Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that UK-made weapons components are not used in violations of international humanitarian law by allied states.

The Business and Trade Secretary is responsible for licensing the export of military goods. In his decisions he draws on advice from the Foreign Secretary, including with regard to compliance with International Humanitarian Law (IHL).

Under the UK’s robust export licensing criteria, the Government will not issue export licences if there is a clear risk that the items might be used to commit or facilitate serious violations of IHL. We review all new licence applications on this basis. We also keep all our extant licences (which typically last for two years) under continual review.

Should licences be found to no longer be consistent with the criteria, the Government can amend, suspend or revoke them.