Clause 2 - Purposes of orders under section 1(1) or 2(1)
Export Control
11:00 am
Mr Gerald Howarth (Aldershot, Conservative)
I rise briefly to echo my hon. Friend's caveats about the open-ended definition of the powers that the clause gives to the Government. The clause could provide the Government with a substantial power on which there would be a limited check. I accept the Minister's point that technology moves on. There is no point in passing legislation that will be out of date in two years' time because technology has changed. However, it is the duty of Parliament to scrutinise the Government's intentions, and I have reservations about the catch-all nature of the clause.
The Minister talked of weapons of mass destruction, and we all understand the need to be absolutely rigorous in ensuring that anything that goes to make a weapon of mass destruction is not exported from this country into the hands of those who would do us injury. However, we should also understand that the Bill's scope extends far beyond weapons of mass destruction to cover other technologies such as military pyrotechnics. I was involved with a company that made military pyrotechnics—simulated battlefield devices for training purposes.
We should not misrepresent the Bill. It is not simply about preventing weapons of mass destruction, or components thereof, from falling into the hands of people such as Saddam Hussein. It is much more comprehensive and wide-ranging, and imposes conditions on the export of a large number of components in the defence sector. I hope that my hon. Friend the Member for Salisbury is correct when he says that there reposes in the House of Lords a wealth of experience in these matters. It also contains some very fine minds. In the intervening period, they may be able to find a way to ensure that the Government achieve the overall objective without taking controls and powers that are so extensive that they are unaccountable in this important area.
Question put and agreed to.
Clause 2 ordered to stand part of the Bill.