Cluster bomb promoters banned from arms fair

The organisers of the UK's biggest arms fair are facing criticism for allowing a company to advertise banned cluster bombs for a second time.

A Pakistani exhibitor was banned from Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEi) at London's Docklands last week, after promotional material for cluster munitions was found at its stall.

Britain is a signatory to an international convention which makes it illegal to sell or promote cluster bombs, which shower large areas with shrapnel or explosive "bomblets". Campaign groups say there can be no excuse for the lapse, given that the company, Pakistan Ordnance Factory, had been caught promoting the same munitions at the 2009 fair.

"For DSEi, there can be no excuse whatsoever. They were told specifically about the Pakistan Ordnance Factory," said Oliver Sprague of Amnesty International.

Also at the fair, pamphlets advertising illegal torture equipment, including leg cuffs and waist chains, were found at the stall of the Surrey-based Beechwood Equipment.