FOR PERSONAL, NON-COMMERCIAL USE ONLY
UK Working Group On Arms, Press Release
July 22, 2002

Campaigners Attack "Meddling" With Arms Laws

Amnesty International, BASIC, Christian Aid, International Alert,
Oxfam, Saferworld

A new law to stop British weapons fuelling misery around the world will be dangerously weakened if government ministers can change the rules at will, arms campaigners warned today.

Without guarantees to stop Jack Straw or his successors bypassing the key principles of the Export Control Bill - to be debated in the House of Lords on Tuesday - the bill will be seriously undermined, said members of the UK Working Group on Arms*.

Earlier this month, Jack Straw caused outrage by introducing new guidelines about where the UK can sell military components. The move contradicted a clear UK government policy that British arms should not be sent to places where they might be used to fuel conflict or for internal repression - and cleared the way for parts to be sold to the United States to be used in F16 fighter jets destined for Israel.

"Jack Straw is rewriting the rules as he's going along," said Adrian Lovett, Oxfam's Director of Campaigns. "This contradicts the Government's previous rhetoric about tougher arms laws and opens the way for more dodgy arms deals that end up wrecking the lives of innocent people."

In an opinion poll commissioned by Oxfam and Amnesty International, 79 per cent of those polled said the Government should not be able to change the rules on arms exports without letting MPs discuss it first.

"It's business as usual for the UK repression trade", said Robert Parker, Amnesty International UK's Arms and Security Trade Campaigner. "Without the necessary parliamentary debate the public wants to see, human rights will continue to play second fiddle to the interests of the UK defence industry."

The Rt. Revd. Richard Harries, Bishop of Oxford and board member of Christian Aid, said: "I am deeply concerned by the Government's decision to change the rules on arms sales without parliamentary approval. Britain should be in the forefront of championing the cause of genuinely tough arms controls, and not sell weapons where they could contribute to the suffering of innocent victims of conflict."

UK Working Group members are calling on the House of Lords to protest against ministerial interference, and for stronger safeguards to be introduced when the arms bill is fine-tuned in the autumn.

Ends

Notes for editors:

• The UK Working Group on Arms is an alliance of organisations working towards a more ethical arms trade. Its members are Amnesty International, BASIC, Christian Aid, International Alert, Oxfam, and Saferworld.
• The opinion poll was conducted by TNS PhoneBus. A nationally representative sample of 1,008 adults were interviewed between 12th & 14th July 2002.