London - A British minister questioned by a parliamentary committee about a suspect arms deal in Africa pleaded ignorance yesterday and said his officials had kept him in the dark. Junior Foreign Office minister, Mr Tony Lloyd, faced the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee and failed to answer questions about an alleged breach of an international ban on arms supplies to Sierra Leone.
Mr Lloyd's superior, Foreign Secretary Mr Robin Cook, said at the weekend he had begun an internal inquiry into allegations that officials gave their blessing to a deal by British military consultant Sandline International. He said "no ministerial approval" was given for the deal, which is also being investigated by British Customs and Excise to see if the law has been broken.