Foreign states owe UK £2.3bn
THE UK government is owed more than £2.3bn by foreign states, including a number of the most undemocratic and despotic regimes in the world.
Some of the largest debts to Whitehall’s Export Credits Guarantee Department (ECGD) are owed by Zimbabwe (£190m) and Sudan (£664m).
The list of debts owed to the ECGD by 25 foreign governments was exposed in a written answer to a Parliamentary question by Labour MP Andrew Gwynn.
Gwynne’s question to Liberal Democrat minister Ed Davey also unveiled the expected final payment dates for the outstanding debts. Ten out of the 25 had no final agreed date for repayment.
The ECGD reports to the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills – headed by Liberal Democrats Vince Cable and Ed Davey. It acts as the UK’s Export Credit Agency, designed to boost British exports by providing guarantees, insurance and reinsurance against loss.
The department holds a key position, given the coalition government’s aim of “rebalancing” the economy towards exports, to offset the effects of weak domestic demand following the credit crunch.
Yet it now faces a wave of scrutiny from MPs and campaigning groups, who may seek to extract further details via freedom of information requests.
The ECGD is no stranger to criticism, having previously drawn attacks from groups opposed to the arms trade.
“In most years between a third and half of the Export Credits Guarantee Department support is for military goods,” the Campaign Against Arms Trade claimed in 2006.