§ Mrs. Bridget PrenticeTo ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) if he will make it his policy to halt immediately all arms exports to Indonesia if it is established that weapons or military vehicles which have been manufactured in Britain and exported to Indonesia are being used against the people of East Timor;
(2) what guarantees he has received from the Indonesian Government that British aircraft and weapons which have been exported to Indonesia will not be used against the people of East Timor.
§ Mr. HeseltineSpecific assurances have been given to the Government in respect of Hawk aircraft sales.
Because all applications for licensable goods are subject to strict controls and are scrutinised on a case by case basis, no further assurances or guarantees have been deemed necessary.
If we believe that a prospective purchase of military goods is likely to be used for repressive purposes against a civilian population, the application is rejected.
If there is any evidence of British military equipment being used for repressive purposes against civilians I shall certainly consider it.