- guardian.co.uk, Friday 30 March 2001 09.11 BST
The export control and non-proliferation bill was drawn up to implement recommendations made by Lord Scott in his report on the arms-to-Iraq affair in 1996. There have been a series of rows over the past four years over sales such as Hawk jets to Indonesia, Hawk spares to Zimbabwe, and other arms to Morocco, Angola, Rwanda and Ethiopia.
The trade and industry secretary, Stephen Byers, claimed the bill will go further than the Scott recommendations "to try and prevent weapons getting into the wrong hands'.'
The bill proposes:
• New controls on the trafficking and brokering of weapons . Special attention is to be paid to weapons going to countries that are the subject of embargoes, and to the sale of equipment that could be used for torture.
• Regulations on the transfer abroad of military technology by electronic means, for example fax or email.
• Controls on technical assistance to weapons of mass destruction or related missile programmes.
The draft bill follows government embarrassment at having failed to make time for it in four Queen's speeches, after making an issue of arms sales in opposition.
Mr Byers announced an eight-week consultation period. Liz Clegg, a spokesman for Saferworld, said: "Potential loopholes remain to be addressed. If unresolved, these could be exploited by unscrupulous arms dealers."
Saferworld wants restrictions to include all British passport holders to prevent them moving their operations overseas. It also wants freight companies to be covered, and for British embassies to check that weapons go where they are meant to.
