Hong Kong protests: Call for investigation into whether UK-made tear gas used in police crackdown

Campaigners say £9.5m worth of arms licences granted since earlier round of repression of protests in 2014

Campaigners are calling for an investigation into whether UK-produced tear gas and riot control equipment have been used against pro-democracy demonstrators in Hong Kong.

The Campaign Against Arms Trade (Caat) called on the government to declare an end to all arms sales and training of Hong Kong police in the wake of the brutal police crackdown on protests against the imposition of Chinese security laws in the former British colony.

The Department for International Trade said no export licences have been issued for crowd control equipment for Hong Kong since a statement by then-foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt in June last year raising British concerns about the treatment of demonstrators. No such licences are currently in place.

Freedom of information releases have shown that the England and Wales College of Policing provided training and support to Hong Kong law and order forces as recently as last year.

And information compiled by Caat showed that the UK has licensed at least £9.5m worth of arms exports to Hong Kong since an earlier crackdown saw British-made tear gas used on pro-democracy campaigners in 2014.

Export licences have been granted for the supply of small arms, CS gas, body armour and helmets to Hong Kong authorities over this period.

But the total is likely to be even higher, as 13 open licences have also been granted, allowing the unlimited transfer of ammunition, tear gas, small arms and crowd control munitions such as rubber bullets during specified periods.

Official policy on arms sales states that the government will not approve them “if there is a clear risk that the items might be used for internal repression”.

Andrew Smith of Caat said: “The images we have seen from Hong Kong have been appalling. The use of tear gas and rubber bullets must be condemned in the strongest terms.

“There are big questions about the role of UK-made weapons in the repression. UK-made tear gas has been used against campaigners in Hong Kong before, and there is a strong possibility that it is being used again. Tear gas can be deadly and should never have been sold in the first place.”