Ministers have been accused of putting profit over human rights after organising a secretive arms fair to sell tear gas and rubber bullets to a host of authoritarian regimes . The three-day 'Security & Policing Event ' , which is closed to the public and press , has been organised by the Home Office to showcase British anti-riot kit to dozens of foreign governments , including Saudi Arabia , Egypt and Vladimir Putin 's Russia . Sniper rifles , phone-hacking equipment and specialist 'sound guns ' will be available to help foreign police control uprisings . Ministers have organised an arms fair to sell anti-riot equipment to foreign governments including rubber bullets , like those used by police against protesters in Sao Paulo , Brazil last year 2014 . The Government has publicised the event as a unique opportunity for arms manufacturers to market equipment 'which would be too sensitive to show in a more-open environment ' . Since the Coalition came to power in 2010 , £15.9million worth of export licences for crowd-control have been approved by Vince Cable 's Business Department . This includes £10million of tear gas or 'anti-riot irritants ' , £640,000 of 'crowd-control ammunition ' and £3.1million of riot shields . Much of the kit is sold to democracies like France and the US . But crowd-control supplies have also been cleared for countries on the Government 's own human-rights blacklist . Nine of the countries to receive export approvals - Afghanistan , Bahrain , Colombia , Iraq , Israel , Libya , Pakistan , Russia and Saudi Arabia - feature or have featured on the Foreign Office 's human rights blacklist of 'Countries of Concern ' over the last five years . The figures - compiled from Government data by the Campaign Against the Arms Trade - show that goods worth £6.7m were cleared for shipping to the nine countries between 2010 and last September . Since the Coalition came to power it has signed off export licenses for anti-riot equipment to foreign regimes , including Libya under Muammar Gaddafi ( left ) and Valdimir Putin 's Russia . Some £2.95m of tear gas was sold to Saudi Arabia and £228,000 of 'crowd-control ammunition ' to Libya while Muammar Gaddafi remained in power , the Independent reported . Andrew Smith , from CAAT , told the newspaper : 'This is a sign of a system that puts arms-company profits ahead of human rights . Weapons like tear gas have an indiscriminate effect and are synonymous with internal repression . 'The Government may have revoked the licence for tear gas to Libya , but it should never have been signed in the first place . Gaddafi was a brutal tyrant from day one , and this is a reminder that acts of oppression by his regime were carried out with British support . ' The government insists licences will not be granted when there is a 'clear risk ' that the exports 'might be used to facilitate internal repression ' . In a statement , the Business Department said : 'We rigorously examine every licence application on a case-by-case basis against internationally recognised criteria . 'Risks around human rights abuses are a key part of our assessment and we do not grant licences where there is a clear risk that it might be used for internal repression . '
Three-day 'Security & Policing Event ' closed to the public and press . Event has been organised by Independent to showcase British anti-riot kit . Sniper rifles , phone-hacking kit and 'sound guns ' will be available to buy . Crowd control kit has been sold to regimes from Saudi Arabia to Russia .