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Arms dealers in Britain have signed billions of pounds in contracts with countries the Government says abuse human rights and harbour fanatics.

Of 28 countries on the Foreign Office’s list “of concern”, 23 have deals to buy arms from the UK.

Examples include Saudi Arabia, listed for “human rights abuses”, which has signed £1.9billion in deals, mainly for military aircraft.

Libya, blighted by “insurgents and Islamic fanatics”, plans to spend £29million here on guns and ammunition.

And Iran, named for “subjugation of women, public executions and extreme religious laws” has deals to purchase £15million in arms.

The list of dangerous countries appears in the Foreign Office’s Human Rights and Democracy Report 2013.

A statement by Foreign Secretary William Hague boasts of the UK’s commitment to democracy and human rights and its opposition to sexual violence and oppression of homosexuality.

Listed countries were decided by “objective and widely-used” criteria.

Andrew Smith, of Campaign Against Arms Trade, said: “There is hypocrisy at the heart of UK foreign policy.

"Selling weapons to these regimes strengthens them and give them greater legitimacy.”