The UK government is helping to conceal the scale of the country’s arms trade by encouraging the use of licenses, which obscure payments and those making the purchases from public view, according to MPs.

The report was published by the Committees on Arms Export Control (CAEC), which was composed of four influential select committees, covering defense, foreign policy, business and development.

It found that the Export Control Organization (ECO), which oversees military equipment sales, urges traders to apply for a less accountable form of license, the use of which could hinder oversight, allowing ethically questionable deals to be brokered in secret.

RT