• The post you are reporting:
   
  "Government let British company export nerve gas chemicals to Syria
  
  UK accused of 'breath-taking laxity' over export license for potassium fluoride and sodium fluoride
  
  The Government was accused of "breathtaking laxity" in its arms controls tonight after it emerged
  
  that officials authorised the export to Syria of two chemicals capable of being used to make a nerve
  
  agent such as sarin a year ago.
  
  The Business Secretary, Vince Cable, will on Monday be asked by MPs to explain why a British
  
  company was granted export licences for the dual-use substances for six months in 2012 while
  
  Syria's civil war was raging and concern was rife that the regime could use chemical weapons
  
  on its own people. The disclosure of the licences for potassium fluoride and sodium fluoride, which
  
  can both be used as precursor chemicals in the manufacture of nerve gas, came as the US Secretary
  
  of State John Kerry said the United States had evidence that sarin gas was used in last month's
  
  atrocity in Damascus."
  
  Above cut and paste courtesy of Reg - the story should finish with the fact that the licenses were withdrawn before any export had taken place. Partial reporting and incorrect reporting on our TVs and in our newspapers is a bane to informed comment and decision making and a boon to ill informed discussion and debate which ends in poor decision making.
  
  I see that the papers and Reg are still misreporting the motion that was before Parliament - say a lie often enough in enough places and it'll be believed.

Report Post

Your Name

Reason