AN African government whose people are receiving financial aid from Scotland has been accused of flouting sanctions in supplying the Zimbabwean police force with tear gas.

The gas was linked to at least 11 deaths, including those of five babies, during a recent incident in Zimbabwe, where Robert Mugabe's regime has been strongly criticised for human rights violations.

The allegations have been denied by the Malawian government, but could prove embarrassing for Jack McConnell, the first minister, who has invited President Bingu wa Mutharika to visit Scotland in November. He will be the keynote speaker at a conference organised by the Scotland-Malawi partnership, the group that has grown out of a partnership set up by Strathclyde University six years ago.

Amnesty International said it had received reports that tear gas has been stockpiled in Malawi to be shipped to Zimbabwe and called on the governments of Malawi, South Africa, the UK and US to launch an urgent inquiry.

The Foreign Office said the former British high commissioner to Malawi wrote to the UK government last year expressing concern over the nation's purchase of pounds-500,000 of tear gas. A British diplomatic source also told the BBC there was increasing evidence pointing to Malawi in supplying tear gas to Zimbabwe.

Such a large order from a country which ranks as the 10th poorest in the world rang alarm bells and the Department for International Development is understood to have launched an investigation into the allegations, although it declined to comment yesterday.

In the last two weeks in Zimbabwe, tear gas has been used as police arrested 22,000 people as part of what they said was a crackdown on illegal traders. The worst recorded incident occurred last September when 11 people were killed when riot police moved in to evict what was claimed to be an illegal settlement numbering up to 15,000 people in Porta Farm on the outskirts of the capital, Harare.

Although it is unclear as to whether any British money was used to purchase tear gas, the UK government fears the Malawian government is using "backfilling".

This practice involves the diversion of the government's own money earmarked for development projects and then using British aid money to fill the financial black hole.

The UK led the way in getting the European Union and the US to impose a ban on sales of tear gas to Zimbabwe in 2002 after the police were implicated in a pattern of human rights abuses, but the Zimbabwe police have continued to obtain stocks.

The Malawian High Commission in London last night denied it was trading tear gas with Zimbabwe. Mark Ulaya, first secretary political, said:

"The government of Malawi does not and cannot buy tear gas on behalf of another country. If it does buy tear gas it does so for its own security."

A spokeswoman for Amnesty said: "Clearly a full official investigation and explanation is required of why tear gas canisters from the USA and apparently with UK and South Africa markings are being used to commit human rights violations in Zimbabwe. No supplies of tear gas should be allowed to Zimbabwe as long as the police continue to fire it into confined spaces and directly at people as they have done."

Mr McConnell visited Malawi in May for five days to promote a fund for aid development and relations between Scotland and the impoverished African nation. During his visit, the first minister, after speaking with Bob Geldof, raised the issue of corruption in government with Mr Mutharika.

The president responded to concerns that aid money goes astray by saying he was setting up a completely new form of government, with clear accountability and a crackdown on corruption.

Last night, a spokesman for Mr McConnell said of public money sent from Scotland to Malawi: "The money will be invested through Scottish partner organisations based in Malawi and will need to be accounted for. Our priorities are to support the development of health, education and governance."

Mr McConnell has also told MSPs that the Malawi fund, to be run by the Scottish Community Foundation, would have no direct relationship to ministers and politicians.

In the Scottish Parliament, Mr McConnell attacked critics of the executive-backed fund to co-ordinate project aid for Malawi, after the country failed to meet G8 rules to qualify for immediate debt cancellation.

He insisted that ordinary Scots should continue to contribute to direct projects aimed at assisting specific areas of the African nation.

On Wednesday, Britain suspended a planned pounds-20m increase in aid to Ethiopia because of political unrest.

Amnesty urged all governments near to Zimbabwe to carry out inspections to determine if any of their tear gas may have been trafficked to the country. It said it was concerned that the information provided in the South African and the UK governments' annual reports on arms export licensing was insufficient for parliamentarians, NGOs and the public to properly scrutinise what is being sold to whom.

"For example, in the UK exports of tear gas products can be recorded under 12 different category codes and in South Africa tear gas is hidden under a category called non-lethal equipment - limited to purposely designed demining, mine clearing and mine detecting equipment, and all non-lethal pyrotechnical and riot control products, " a spokeswoman said.

Finance ministers have announced they would wipe out some of the debt owed by some of the poorest countries.

The deal benefits 18 nations immediately, while nine countries, including Malawi are expected to see their debts wiped out in 12 to 18 months.