PRESS RELEASE

14 November 1996

Exporting Dunblane

Proposed Legislation Could Lead to the Export of Thousands of Firearms

Thousands of firearms may soon be exported as a result of new limits on British gun ownership. An official at the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) told BASIC yesterday that they have already received "hundreds of requests" for export licenses for weapons that are likely to be outlawed in Britain.

Geraldine O'Callaghan, analyst with the think tank the British American Security Information Council said, "Tougher gun control makes sense. But now the Government proposes to licence people to sell weapons that are too dangerous for UK citizens. To stop the cycle of killing, these weapons must be destroyed, not sent to kill people in other countries."

Small arms are responsible for most of the killing in Zaire, Rwanda, Burundi, Sudan and other deadly conflicts around the world. Britain has an opportunity to take a global leadership role by acknowledging the devastating role of small arms and light weapons in conflict. "These exports highlight the discrepancies between Britain's domestic and foreign policy. The Government should bar these exports. If not, by the time new legislation is passed there could be 150,000 firearms flooding the global market", O'Callaghan added.

The British American Security Information Council has been researching the weapons trade for five years. In 1995 BASIC set up a project to analyze the role of light weapons in conflict. Council member Frank Blackaby was Director of the world-renowned Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) and established its global arms trade monitoring program.

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