Richard Norton-Taylor – The government is selling arms and security equipment to countries whose human rights record it has strongly criticised, according to lists of weapons cleared for export that have been seen by the Guardian.
The countries include Indonesia, where the Foreign Office has reported allegations of extrajudicial killings, Nepal, where it has reported summary executions, and Saudi Arabia, where torture is just one abuse of basic human rights attacked by the FO.
Licences have been approved this year for the export to Saudi Arabia of "security and paramilitary goods", hitherto unpublished figures show.
The list of items under this category is: "Acoustic devices... suitable for riot control purposes, anti-riot shields... leg irons, gangchains, electric shock belts, shackles... individual cuffs... portable anti-riot devices... water cannon... riot control vehicles... portable devices for riot control or self-protection by the administration of an electric shock".
The government's arms export guidelines state that licences will be refused if there is a "clear risk [they] might be used for internal repression".
The exports to Saudi Arabia, which also include a wide range of military hardware and weapons systems, were cleared despite sharp criticism of the country in the FO's latest annual human rights report published in the summer.
"We continue to have deep concerns about Saudi Arabia's failure to implement basic human rights norms," it says, referring explicitly to capital and corporal punishment and restrictions on freedom of movement, expression, assembly and worship.
It adds: "We believe that between January and December 2002, the Saudi authorities executed about 46 people, one of the highest figures for any country in the world."
The government also approved export licences for categories of arms including machine guns, rockets and missiles, to Indonesia.
Indonesian forces are engaged in fierce fighting against pro-independence rebels in Aceh where British equipment is being used despite assurances from the government they would not be used for offensive or counter-insurgency measures.
After foreign observers were refused acces to Aceh, the government told MPs last month that it "remained concerned about the situation in Aceh".
British-built Saracen armoured vehicles were being used by Indonesian forces in Aceh, Tapol, the Indonesia human rights campaign and the Campaign Against Arms Trade said this week.
Next week human rights activists in Indonesia are planning to challenge the legality of British arms exports to the country, Tapol said yesterday.
There have already been reports of Hawk jets and Scorpion tanks deployed in Aceh.
The FO says in its human rights report that while the professionalism of the Indonesian security forces had improved, "serious problems remain, with allegations of extrajudicial killings, disappearances, arbitrary detention, rape, torture and mistreatment of prisoners".
The government has also approved big increases in the sale of arms to Nepal where security forces are fighting Maoist guerrillas. Last year Britain provided Nepal with two military helicopters with funds from its "conflict prevention" fund.
Yet the FO accuses the Nepalese army and Maoists of "gross and widespread human rights abuses". Its annual report adds: "The security forces were responsible for extensive and systematic illegal detentions, torture and summary executions".
The government's arms export criteria state it "will not issue licences for exports which would provoke or prolong armed conflicts or aggravate existing tensions".
The list of export licences was provided by Nigel Griffiths, the trade minister, in response to questions from Menzies Campbell, Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman.
Mr Campbell said yesterday: "There is clearly a substantial disconnection between the government's avowed policy on human rights and its implementation of its own guidelines on arms exports".
"If we are serious about human rights we should not be exporting equipment under these categories to governments with such doubtful records."
The government says it keeps export licensing policy under review and that its controls are among the the toughest in the world.