News Release

8th November 2003

ARMS SALES LOOPHOLE

Michael Fabricant received a petition today (Saturday 8th November) from the Campaign Against the Arms Trade signed by 525 residents of Lichfield Whittington and Hints. Michael will now send these to Prime Minister Tony Blair for his response. Michael shares many of these concerns. "Having worked in Africa, I am only too aware that the poorest of nations are often the biggest purchaser of weapons. Our defence industry is highly responsible, but this Government has a duty to ensure that arms do not fall indirectly into the wrong hands". In a debate on arms export licensing in the House of Commons which he wound up as Shadow Trade Minister on Thursday (6th November), he exposed loopholes in the law which allow British arms dealers to broker sales of ground to air missiles and grenade launchers without needing any licence at all.

"Particularly now, at a time of international terrorism, it is extraordinary that missiles with a range of under 300 km are exempt from the brokerage licensing scheme", Michael Fabricant says. "That excludes rocket grenade launchers and ground to air missiles. But it is ground to air missiles of the type used recently in Kenya against a jet airliner from Israel and which caused a major scare at Heathrow airport a few months back which are weapons most favoured by terrorists. There is a huge loophole in government legislation which permits UK citizens to trade abroad in British made weapons without any control by the Department of Trade and Industry. I told the minister in the debate that he and other DTI ministers would bear much of the responsibility if British citizens are killed as a consequence of the weakness of the Export Control Act. These, and other loopholes, must be closed immediately for the security of our nation and people".