The government was coming under growing pressure last night to impose an arms embargo on India and Pakistan as it flatly denied reports that it had blocked the proposed sale of more than 60 Hawk jets to India in a deal worth £1bn.
MPs called on ministers to clarify the government's policy on arms exports with Whitehall refusing to disclose which arms shipments to India and Pakistan, if any, had been stopped because of the crisis over Kashmir.
Officials denied reports that Patricia Hewitt, the trade secretary, had issued an order blocking all such shipments. "We do not talk about individual export licence applications," a department of trade and industry spokesman said, though an exception was made for the proposed Hawk deal yet to be agreed with Delhi.
He said all applications were considered on a "case-by-case" basis. "There are no plans for an arms embargo now and there is no change in policy," a Foreign Office spokeswoman insisted.
The proposed Hawk deal, which ministers, including Tony Blair, were pushing in an intensive sales campaign earlier this year, was not affected by the current crisis since a deal with India had not been signed, officials said.
Whitehall said decisions on arms exports were being taken on the basis of criteria laid down by Robin Cook, then foreign secretary, shortly after Labour came to power in 1997. These include references to the impact on "regional stability".
They also state that the government would not issue export licences "if there is a clearly identifiable risk" that the weapons buyer would be used "aggressively against another country or to assert by force a territorial claim".
Officials yesterday pointed to these criteria, implying that any new application to deliver arms to south Asia's two nuclear powers would be blocked or suspended. They added that the government could always revoke earlier licences. However, four years ago the government refused to revoke licences for the delivery of Hawks and water cannon to Indonesia after taking legal advice.
Ann Clywd, Labour member of the Commons international development committee, said yesterday after speaking to Ms Hewitt: "There clearly should be an arms embargo."
Michael Moore, the Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman, described the government's policy on arms exports as "in a mess". The criteria gave maximum flexibility to Whitehall and should be subjected to proper parlia mentary scrutiny, he said. Roger Berry, the chairman of four Commons select committees jointly investigating British arms exports, said the situation between India and Pakistan was "as clear a case you could get" for an arms ban and the government should explain its policy.
He also called for prior parliamentary scrutiny of major arms sales, something the government has not ruled out.
A spokesman for Tony Baldry, the Tory chairman of the Commons international development committee, pointed to a Commons motion signed by about 70 MPs from all parties expressing concern about the sale of the Hawk jets which, it says, is "beyond [India's] legitimate military needs". The £1bn cost equalled 10 years of UK bilateral aid to India.
Michael Ancram, the shadow foreign secretary, said: "Any lack of clarity coming from the government on this matter is of great concern ahead of Jack Straw's trip to the region this week."
Ben Bradshaw, a Foreign Office minister, said there was no need for a "formal arms embargo" since the government was "not allowed to license for export any equipment where there is a clear risk that it could be used for external aggression or internal oppression". But a spokesman for BAE Systems, manufacturer of the Hawks, said it understood that there was no embargo on applications for new export licences. He said that while no contract had yet been signed with India - which is arguing about the cost - the company was optimistic about the outcome of negotiations which have been dragging for years.
The Hawk is an advanced trainer but could be used as a ground attack aircraft. Some 126 Jaguar bombers, also made by BAE Systems, are being produced in India under licence. The aircraft are capable of being adapted to carry nuclear weapons, the Ministry of Defence admits.
In 2000, the government granted nearly 700 export licences for a range of military equipment to India in deals worth £64.5m.
Sir Ken Jackson, the general secretary of Amicus, Britain's second biggest union, warned that 2,500 UK jobs could go if sales of Hawk aircraft to India were halted.
