News of a proposed deal to sell more than 60 Hawk jets to India in a deal worth £1bn has put the government's ethical foreign policy under scrutiny.

The UK Government allowed export licences worth £64.5m to India and £6m in to Pakistan in 2000, according to the last available official figures.

The government [may be] taking a more aggressive stance or would take a more aggressive stance

BAE Systems spokesman

That contrasts with £57.5m to India in 1999 and £11.5m to Pakistan.

According to the Ministry of Defence defence export orders are worth £5bn a year, accounting for about 40% of UK defence industrial output.

They account for 90,000 out of 345,000 defence industry jobs.

In 2000 the UK exported components for combat helicopters, frigates and the temporary loan of a military training aircraft to Pakistan.

India bought components for air-to-surface missiles, aircraft machine guns and armoured personnel carriers among other things.

The government's own guidelines say that no licence for arms exports should be granted if there is a clearly identifiable risk that the weapons could be used aggressively against another country or to asser by force a territorial claim.

Contradictory reports

In the meantime the company at the heart of the jets deal is waiting to see whether they will get their licence.

A BAE Systems there was confusion because of a number of apparently contradictory reports that a ban on granting licences had been put in place.

"That may mean the government is not taking a more aggressive stance or would take a more aggressive stance," he said.

The possible deal on the Hawks is thought to be at least two years away.