Arms-to-Iraq

The Arms-to-Iraq affair concerned the uncovering of the government-endorsed sale of arms by British companies to Iraq, then under the rule of Saddam Hussein. The scandal contributed to the growing dissatisfaction with the Conservative government of John Major and may have contributed to the electoral landslide for Tony Blair's Labour Party at the 1997 general election.

Following the first Gulf War of 1991 there was interest in the extent to which British companies had been supplying Saddam Hussein's regime with the materials to prosecute the war. Four directors of the British machine tools manufacturer Matrix Churchill were put on trial for supplying equipment and knowledge to Iraq, but in 1992 the trial collapsed, as it was revealed that the company had been advised by the government on how to sell arms to Iraq. Several of the directors were eventually paid compensation.

Matrix Churchill

Matrix Churchill was a company that produced machine tools in Coventry, England, that had been bought by the Iraqi government. According to the International Atomic Energy Authority, its products found in Iraq, were among the highest quality of their kind in the world. They were 'dual use' machines that could be used to manufacture weapons parts. As one of the Directors claimed to have been working for the intelligence services, the Ministry of Defence advised Matrix Churchill on how to apply for export licences of materials that could be used to make munitions in such a way that would not attract attention. When Alan Clark admitted under oath that he had been "economical with the actualité" in answering questions about the policy on arms exports to Iraq, the trial collapsed and triggered the Scott Inquiry, which reported in 1996.

This case also raised the issue of public interest immunity, the process by which information believed to be highly sensitive is kept outwith the public domain. In order to prevent information being public the relevant government minister must issue a public interest immunity certificate.

Bibliography

• Cowley, Chris Blake, Robin. Supergun: A Political Scandal. Arrow. ISBN 0-09-918781-7.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• Leigh, David (1993). Betrayed: Trial of Matrix Churchill. Bloomsbury Publishing PLC. ISBN 0-7475-1552-2.
• Miller, Davina (1997). Export or Die: Britain's Defence Trade with Iran and Iraq (Global Issues). Northeastern University Press. ISBN 1-55553-285-3.
• Norton-Taylor, Richard Lloyd, Mark Cook, Stephen (1996). Knee Deep in Dishonour: Scott Report and Its Aftermath. Weidenfeld & Nicolson. ISBN 0-575-06385-8.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• Phythian, Mark (1996). Arming Iraq (Northeastern Series in Transnational Crime). Continuum International Publishing Group Ltd. ISBN 0-304-33852-4.

See also

• British support for Iraq during the Iran–Iraq war
• International aid to combatants in the Iran–Iraq War

External links

• BBC On This Day 15th Feb - 1996: Arms-to-Iraq report published
• Co-Operative Research - Companies selling arms to Iraq 1981 - 1993
• Guardian Unlimited - Arms to Iraq inquiry affects control on exports - 07/12/00
• ICH - Congressional Record Arms Sales to Iraq - 21/09/92
• ISIS - Matrix Churchill
• The Mirror - Iraq: The Lying Game by John Pilger 27/08/02
• Video of Robin Cook's Commons Address in 3 parts