§ Mr. Jim CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what joint international action he is proposing to curb the production of torture equipment; [20294]
(2) what discussions he has had with his European and United States colleagues to curb the British manufacture of torture equipment; [20295]
(3) what discussions officials and Ministers have had to curb the manufacture of torture equipment with colleagues at the United Nations and the European Union. [20297]
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§ Mr. David DavisThere have been no discussions on curbing the manufacture of torture equipment.
Officials at the European Union working group on conventional arms transfers have recently held preliminary exchanges on information on export control practices covering these kinds of weapons. These discussions are on-going.
A wide variety of innocuous equipment could conceivably be misused for torture, including goods which it is not practical to control. Prohibited weapons are controlled under section 5 of the Firearms Act 1968, as amended. They cannot be manufactured, possessed or sold without the authority of the Secretary of State for the Home Department.