Return to an Address of the Honourable the House of Commons
dated 18 July 1996 for the Appendices to the Report of the Inquiry into the Export of Defence Equipment and Dual-Use Goods to Iraq and Related Prosecutions laid before The House on 15 February 1996*

Volume Two
Section D Arms and Defence-Related Exports to Iraq
Chapter 6 Specific Export Licence Applications after the Cease-Fire

Excerpt:
(XX) MARCONI COMMAND AND CONTROL SYSTEMS: ST800 SERIES INSTRUMENTATION RADAR SYSTEM

D6.449 In December 1988 Marconi submitted an AWP application seeking revalidation of clearance which they had been given in 1987 to promote their ST 800 Instrumentation Radar System in a number of countries including Iraq. The application was approved at a meeting of the IDC on 18 January 1989. The approval was, however, on the basis that there was to be “No supply before formal cessation of hostilities”. *853

D6.450 On 9 June 1989 Marconi submitted an ELA in respect of the ST800 Radar System. The consignee was given as the “Al Kindi Institute, Ministry of Defence, Iraq” and the precise purpose for which the goods were to be used was given as “Development and test of defensive ground to air missile system”. The covering letter to the ELA said that in view of the urgency of the matter the company had sent a copy of the ELA direct to Mr Barrett. This was done on Mr Barrett’s advice “to facilitate more rapid processing of the application”. The covering letter explained the urgency of the application as follows:

“1. Our Marketing Executives are currently in the Country concerned, finalising the promotion of the equipment.

2. We have assessed the Customer’s requirement as extremely urgent.

3. A competing, non-European, Company has offered to deliver ”off-the-shelf“ equipment within one month.

..........

To compete effectively we shall have to submit a formal offer with two weeks, for which we shall require a valid export licence.” *854

D6.451 The ELA was referred for consideration by Lieut-Colonel Glazebrook. On 30 June 1989 he advised that the radars had been developed for RAE *855 to be used in the research and development of missiles and “In view of Iraq’s use of missiles to bombard Tehran etc, we believe that there is every justification to refuse supply before cessation of hostilities and the appeal should be refused”. He said further that he was “surprised that the application was not refused outright under the MTCR rules. Perhaps the MODWG made a mistake and failed to refer it for MTCR consideration. If we did not, then we must do so now.” *856

D6.452 At the MODWG meeting held on 3 August 1989, the ELA was, despite Lieut-Colonel Glazebrook’s advice, marked ‘A(I)’. *857 Nonetheless, the Summary Record of the discussion of the ELA at the IDC meeting on 10 August 1989 records as follows:

“The MOD Working Group had recommended approval of this application since the ST800 was a relatively old coastal defence radar. New information had come to light, however, which suggested that the radar was to be used for missile tracking on a range. This could be sensitive under the Missile Technology Control Regime. MOD therefore wanted the company to submit a fuller application with more explicit details about the end use of the equipment, which could be properly considered by DIS. A decision would then be taken out of Committee on the application. In the meantime, the IDC recommended that the application remain PENDING.” *858

D6.453 At the subsequent MODWG meeting on 24 August 1989, Lieut-Colonel Glazebrook annotated his copy of the ELA list with:

“Naval defence system. Cttee approved with DIS dissent. Could be MTCR. If software to analyse performance shd be refused by DSTI” *859

D6.454 The summary record of the 15 November IDC meeting *860, submitted to, and agreed by, FCO Ministers, noted that;

“On previous IDC listing this item had been designated PENDING (ARMS MANUFACTURE). The MOD had since decided that because the equipment is to be used to improve the tracking of Iraqi missiles, it should be REFUSED now on the grounds of enhancement.”

On 17 November 1989, Mr Barrett, in his minute to Minister (DP) seeking endorsement of the IDC’s recommendations, included:

“Marconi Radar have submitted an ELA for the supply of an ST800 radar system, worth some £Q7.5M, to the Iraqi MOD for use in the development and testing of defensive ground to air missile systems. There are no restrictions under the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) on the supply of this particular type of radar, nor indeed on its intended use in the development of tactical weapons. The MOD WG viewed the supply of this radar, however, as a significant enhancement of Iraq’s capability to design, develop and test its own missiles. The IDC agreed that, particularly in view of recent public interest in Iraq’s Condor missile programme, the application should be refused.” *861

The recommendation received unanimous Ministerial endorsement and the application was refused.

Endnotes:

*853 - MOD/24.1.193 at 217

*854 - MOD/28.1.33

*855 - Royal Aircraft Establishment

*856 - MOD/28.1.177

*857 - MOD/28.2.243 at 253

*858 - FCO/6.1.155

*859 - MOD/28.2.321 at 361

*860 - FCO/6.1.35

*861 - MOD/31.1.11 at 13

* The Full report is available from The Stationery Office Ltd., PO Box 276, London, SW8 5DT.