The Democratic Alliance on Tuesday suspended its participation in parliament's defence committees dealing with the joint investigation team's report on the probe into the arms deal.

After spending the entire morning arguing about process, and having been granted a lengthy adjournment to consult their leaders, the DA's three MPs finally walked out just before lunch when their demand that a "strongly worded" letter be sent to Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota was rejected.

The dispute arose when defence joint standing committee chairman Joseph Mashimbye read a letter from Lekota declining an invitation for the Defence Department and Armscor to appear before it.

In his letter, Lekota explained, among other things, that the department had put all the evidence and information it had before the three investigation agencies probing the deal.

The agencies had made their findings based on this, as well as on other submissions to which the department was not privy.Thus, the department was unable at this stage to shed further light on the report and its findings.

Cabinet had accepted the report, its findings and recommendations, which were to be implemented.

However, Lekota said the department would be willing to appear before the committee at a later date if more information emerged.

The DA's Hendrik Schmidt contended that despite this, there was no reason why the department and Armscor could not appear to "clarify matters".

If it was not agreed to send a strongly worded letter demanding this to Lekota by 3pm on Tuesday, the DA would leave, he said.

Mashimbye said it was clear the department felt it had nothing new to say to the committee, other than what it gave to the three agencies.

"We can be receptive to that," he said.

Schmidt said the DA could not participate in a "flawed" process, as Parliamentary rules and the Constitution were being flouted.

MPs from the African National Congress, Inkatha Freedom Party, New National Party and the United Democratic Movement all said they wanted the committee to continue with its work of considering the report.

James Ngculu of the ANC said the DA, which had employed spoiling tactics throughout the process, was now again being "disingenuous" and playing the spoiler role.

When the report was tabled in Parliament on November 15, the DA immediately walked out of the meeting without even having had sight of the report.

It was trying everything in the book to stall and discredit the report.

Nowhere in the whole process had parliamentary rules or the Constitution been disregarded, Ngculu said.

The Inkatha Freedom Party's Velaphi Ndlovu said it was "unacceptable and strange" that a party which had agreed with the process to be followed when the committees first met on the report, had now suddenly decided to walk out.

Defence portfolio committee chairwoman Thandi Modise said the three agencies had done the investigation work, and it was not the committee's duty to start further investigations, but to consider the report.

The DA had been given ample opportunity to state its case, but had kept changing the issues at hand.

She was confident "we did what we could to keep the committees together", Modise said.

Mashimbye ruled that as there was no unanimity, no letter would be sent.

The agencies - National Directorate of Public Prosecutions, Public Protector, and Auditor General - are scheduled to appear before the seven parliamentary committees dealing with the report on December 4 to answer questions and clarifications.

In a statement later on Tuesday, Schmidt said Lekota's excuse to not appear before the committees was "bizarre and shocking".

"For a minister to indicate that he cannot appear before Parliament because he "lacks all the information" is unprecedented and borders on a flagrant contempt for the institution," Schmidt said.

In another statement, NNP spokesman Hennie Smit said the DA's "boycott mentality" was lamentable.

Although the NNP had been critical of certain aspects, it accepted the report's validity and would participate in the committees to evaluate the report and make its inputs to the end.

The NNP did not believe in boycott politics, he said.

With acknowledgement to Sapa and Independent Online.