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Nov. 7 (Bloomberg) -- The U.K. government should put an embargo on the sale of mobile-phone software to Iran that assists in the tracking, arrest and repression of opposition activists, a senior lawmaker said.

In the House of Lords today, David Alton asked why the sale of such software to Iran is allowed; what the government makes of democracy activists who say it has been used against them; and asked for an accounting of sales to Iran of such gear by Creativity Software Ltd., a British technology company which has had links to Foreign Secretary William Hague.

“Iranian democracy activists state that during interrogation and torture they have been confronted with complete telephone records of their conversations and with details of their movements intercepted by mobile telephone monitoring devices manufactured in the U.K.,” Alton said in questions presented today.

He asked if the government intends “to permit Creativity Software to continue providing British-made intercept software and equipment to Irancell.”

Creativity Software this year sold a system that enables Iranian law enforcement and security forces to monitor cell phone locations, Bloomberg News reported on Oct. 31 citing three people familiar with the transaction.

For that article, Creativity Software confirmed that it counts mobile-phone operator MTN Irancell Telecommunications Services Co. as a client but declined to discuss sales of any location-tracking gear for law... >>>