§ Llew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what British exports of material and technology capable of being used in biological weapons production were made to Iraq since 1972; and how many export licences were(a) granted and (b) rejected in respect of such material and technology over this period. [75867]
§ Nigel GriffithsThe Department of Trade and Industry's Export Control Organisation records details of all relevant export licences granted and rejected. Since 2 May 1997 these are published in the Government's Annual Reports on Strategic Export Controls. Copies of the 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2001 annual reports are available in the Libraries of the House.
Previous administrations have not considered it appropriate to publish information on individual licensing decisions. Information on export licences granted and rejected since 1972, where the end users were in Iraq, is not held centrally and a manual search of all the case files would incur disproportionate costs.
The Government are well aware of the special risks that exist in relation to weapons of mass destruction (WMD), and for this reason gives extremely careful scrutiny to applications that involve potential WMD concerns. A very wide range of items with otherwise entirely legitimate applications can have a potential use in connection with WMD. The Government will not issue an export licence where there is an unacceptable risk of diversion to a WMD programme of concern.