In a report, Oxfam alleged that the British defence industry was taking advantage of a relaxation in controls on the export of weapons components to get around international arms embargoes -- a claim the government rejected.
Components made in Britain are reaching countries like Zimbabwe, Israel, Indonesia, Uganda, Colombia, Nepal and the Philippines even though the sale of complete weapons systems to these countries is banned, it said.
Once abroad, the report said, the components -- ranging from gun barrels to guidance systems -- could easily be assembled into completed systems by regimes involved in military conflicts and human rights abuses.
"The government has put lives at risk by setting up false and dangerous double standards," said Oxfam policy director Justin Forsyth. "Whether a machine gun comes in pieces or ready made, the suffering it can cause in the wrong hands is just the same."
The report was released jointly by Oxfam, Amnesty International and the International Action Network on Small Arms as a parliamentary committee looks into Britain's arms export controls.
Oxfam's report highlighted an 11-fold increase since Prime Minister Tony Blair (news - web sites)'s Labour government took power in the number of times that components have been licensed for export -- from 1,600 in 1998 to 18,948 in 2002.
The biggest increase was said to have occurred in 2002, when Foreign Secretary Jack Straw relaxed controls on component sales so that British-made "head-up" displays could be fitted to US-designed F-16 fighter jets being sold to Israel.
Previously, Britain had banned the sale of any military equipment which could be used by the Israelis against Palestinians in Israeli-occupied territories.
Straw defended the new policy, telling lawmakers on Wednesday: "This may be an uncomfortable decision for some people but the country has made a strategic decision on an all-party basis that this country has a defence industry, with controls in place, and it has to prosper.
"There is a reality that the international defence industry has become more internationalised. ... That is one of the reasons why there has been an increase in the number of licences for components," he said.
Blair, for his part, said during question time in the House of Commons that the controls that are in place are adequate, and that if Oxfam's recommendations were followed, Britain "can't export weapons at all".
"We actually have round about the toughest rules here in this country now, as a result of the intervention of this government, throughout Europe on the export of such weapons and weapons systems," he said.
Oxfam's report accused the British government of putting the interests of the national defence industry ahead of concerns about human rights abuses.
"There is strong evidence to suggest that components are receiving export licences for equipment that would not receive one if it were exported as a complete system, given the likelihood that such equipment could be used to fuel conflict and poverty, or used against civilians to violate human rights," it said.
"We are concerned that weaker standards of licensing of these items, especially given their increased prominence in the export market, create a dangerous new loophole that will allow UK-provided arms components to contribute to suffering around the world."
The report said that the application of weaker standards had led to the "loose" interpretation by the government of international arms embargoes and special exemptions for the supply of spares and upgrades.
Oxfam voiced particular concern about small arms, with the number of licences issued for the export of assault rifle components alone rising from 10 in 1998 to 41 in 2002, including 23 "open" licences which allow multiple shipments.
