Saturday, 11 May, 2002, 06:08 GMT 07:08 UK
Landmine 'salesman' suspended

Princess Diana campaigned against landmines
A company accused of unlawfully marketing
anti-personnel landmines has suspended one of its
senior executives.

PW Defence have "withdrawn from duty" David Howell,
who was allegedly secretly recorded offering to sell the
weapons to a BBC reporter.

Derbyshire Police have started investigations - paying
an "informal visit" to the factory - and the share price of
parent company Chemring Group Plc fell sharply as a
result.

But Chemring has denied the weapons are being
manufactured and blamed Mr Howell's comments on his
own "confusion".

The overseas sales
manager appeared to offer
500 landmines at a price
of £25,000 to BBC defence
and diplomatic
correspondent Andrew
Gilligan, posing as a
customer.

Such weapons are banned
under the Ottawa
Convention and production
and sale is outlawed in the
UK under the 1998
Landmines Act.

MPs demanded an inquiry
into the company after the
revelations on the BBC
Radio 4's Today programme on Friday.

Later that day, police visited the company factory in
Derbyshire.

'No sales since 1999'

According to the BBC programme, the firm was
advertising the E190 "fragmentation grenades", which
are activated by a trip wire, at a Ministry of
Defence-sponsored arms fair.

During a secretly recorded interview, Mr Howell was
heard to admit to Mr Gilligan the grenades were "on the
fringes of legality".

A spokesman for Chemring later told the BBC Mr Howell
had been withdrawn from duty and was not currently
involved in the selling process.

He added Mr Howell had been "confused" when he
made the offer and had "forgotten" the company no
longer sells anti-personnel landmines.

An earlier Chemring
statement said: "Chemring
maintains policies and
procedures to ensure
compliance with all
applicable regulatory
requirements, including
proper vetting of proposed
sales.

"Chemring ceased
manufacture and sale of
this type of trip wire five
years ago.

"We subsequently ceased
manufacture of this type of
fragmentation grenade
and the final sale was made in May 1999."

Labour MP Roger Berry, chairman of the Commons
Select Committee on Defence Exports, promised to
send a dossier outlining the claims to Derbyshire police
and called for an immediate investigation.

His request was echoed by Liberal Democrat foreign
affairs spokesman Menzies Campbell.

Landmine Action, which campaigns against such
weapons, claims the company is promoting the mines
at arms fairs in Greece, South Africa and London.

Customs and Excise say they are investigating the
allegations, because it is their responsibility to oversee
the export of landmines and the organisation of the
international trade in landmines.