BRITAIN BANS EXPORT TO US OF EXECUTION DRUGS

April 14, 2011: Britain is to ban the export to the US of three pharmaceutical drugs that are used to execute prisoners on death row, business secretary Vince Cable has said.
An export ban for pentobarbital, pancuronium bromide and potassium chloride – used in lethal injections – will be formalised in a few days, said Cable, who is urging a Europe-wide ban on sales of the drugs to the US.
"We oppose the death penalty in all circumstances and are clear that British drugs should not be used to carry out lethal injections," he said. "Because of the importance and urgency of the situation this is an issue on which we felt we had to take the lead."
The move comes after a parliamentary inquiry heard that enough pharmaceutical drugs have been sold to the US by licensed British wholesalers since last summer to execute 100 death row inmates. (Sources: Guardian.co.uk, 14/04/2011)