HL Deb 09 June 2004 vol 662 c7WS
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean)

Following consultation with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Ministry of Defence, the Department of Trade and Industry recently approved a further licence to export military list goods to Iraq. The arms embargo against Iraq remains in place under United Nations Security Council Resolution 1483 (2003), with the exception of "arms and other related material required by the (Coalition Provisional) Authority to serve the purposes of this and other related resolutions". As this includes promoting the development of free and fair media, Her Majesty's Government consider it appropriate to grant exemptions for the export of body armour and helmets for use by media organisations working in Iraq. Such licences are issued with provisos that: items will be for the sole use by newsgathering staff and will remain under their control at all times when in use or in storage and items must not be left in country or gifted to local organisations after newsgathering staff leave. The export is consistent with the consolidated EU and national arms export licensing criteria. Future applications will continue to be assessed on a case by case basis against the UN embargo and consolidated criteria, taking into account the circumstances prevailing at the time.