§ Mr. GardinerTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) pursuant to her answer of 8 April 2003,Official Report, column 165W, what reasons underlie the decision not to grant extraterritorial controls to the (a) sale and (b) brokering of sales in military and paramilitary equipment; [112382]
(2) pursuant to her evidence before the Quadripartite Committee on 3 April, what Home Office guidance would be broken by the extension of extraterritorial control to the licensing of military and paramilitary equipment. [112381]
§ Nigel GriffithsThe Home Office guidance recommends that extra-territorial jurisdiction should only be considered in cases of serious offences subject to international condemnation, for which an offender could reasonably be expected to be aware that an offence has been committed. Trafficking and brokering of military equipment to a non-embargoed destination does not come into this category as the vast majority of transactions will consist of legitimate business by UK defence companies carried out accordingly to the laws of the appropriate country.