Committee publication · Correspondence · 16 June 2026
Letter to the Minister of State for Trade relating to arms exports, 9 June 2026
From: Business and Trade Sub-Committee on Economic Security, Arms and Export Controls
Summary
The Business and Trade Sub-Committee on Economic Security, Arms and Export Controls writes to the Minister for Trade requesting detailed information ahead of an evidence session on arms export licensing transparency, data systems, and specific concerns regarding exports to the UAE and Israel, including licence refusals, re-export compliance, and alleged diversions of drone parts.
Key findings
- Committee questions whether government is investigating systems to track actual arms deliveries rather than just authorised exports, and whether ECJU and HMRC databases can be made compatible for data sharing.
- Committee seeks clarity on completion rates for company annual returns on open licences and enforcement action taken for non-compliance.
- Committee requests publication of company-level export licence data including destinations and refusal information, and more specific product descriptions than current military/dual-use category codes.
- Committee questions whether Criterion 6 (internal repression) was applied to UAE licence refusals and requests data for all licence types, not just SIEL applications.
- Committee raises concerns about 89 of 203 non-suspended Israel licences being marked for re-export to third parties, alleged non-compliance with re-export terms for drone parts to Romania, and a £42 million increase in non-suspended Israel licences between July 2025 and February 2026.
Tone
ProceduralTopics
Key actors
Rt Hon Sir Chris Bryant MP, Rt Hon Liam Byrne MP, Business and Trade Committee, Export Control Joint Unit (ECJU), HMRC, Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT)
Notable line
“We have received correspondence from CAAT regarding UK exports to Israel of drone parts that have not been re-exported to Romania as per the terms of the export licence.”
Key Quotes
“Export licensing data only shows information in terms of what is authorised under an export licence. Is the government actively investigating a system which would show data on actual deliveries made under a licence?”
“We have heard concerns that the descriptions in export licensing statistics are too broad. Have you examined the possibility of providing more specific information than just the military and dual use category codes on the nature of the goods licenced for export?”
“You have suspended exports to Israel where they might be used in Gaza. Are you applying a similar test for exports that might be used in Lebanon or Iran?”
“In the latest ad-hoc Israel export control licensing data release , of the 203 non- suspended extant military licences, 89 were identified as being for, or supporting, re-export to third parties outside of Israel.”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗