Storm over £28m Tanzania deal

A deep and embarrassing rift between ministers appeared to have opened up today over a controversial plan to sell a £28 million military air traffic control system to Tanzania.

The deal has been opposed by Gordon Brown's Treasury and by the International Development Secretary, Clare Short. They have questioned the sale to one of the world's poorest countries in a deal also opposed by experts at the World Bank. Tony Blair, however, has reportedly backed the Ministry of Defence and the manufacturers, BAe Systems, arguing that the deal is important for British jobs.

The twist which has inflamed the row is the claim that the MoD encouraged BAe to press ahead with the equipment with a quiet assurance that it would be nodded through by ministers.

Andrew Turner, Tory MP for the Isle of Wight, where the equipment is being manufactured, claimed yesterday that "all the kit for the system has already been assembled" at the factory in Cowes.

Aid organisations have protested that the sophisticated air traffic control system was completely wasteful for a country deep in debt and deprived of basic health care. Aviation experts have stated that a civilian system could have been provided for £7 million.

Comment: Don't sell arms to Tanzania