Pretoria : Democratic Alliance MP Eddie Trent is to write another letter to South African envoy Barbara Masekela today in his quest to establish if President Thabo Mbeki met representatives of arms company Thomson-CSF in France while the arms deal negotiations were under way.

Trent said he was writing a second letter as he had received no response from Masekela's office to a letter sent a month ago. He has also submitted numerous questions in parliament asking Mbeki to say whether he had such a meeting.

Masekela was ambassador to France in 1998. She is now ambassador to the US.

Trent is attempting to establish is there is substance to an allegation, made in parliament by then-Pan African Congress MP Patricia de Lille, that a "senior" member of the government travelled to France in December 1998.

De Lille, who said she was citing sources close to the arms deal negotiations, told parliament that there had been a meeting in France with members of Thomson-CSF.

The question has since been raised whether the senior government member might have been Mbeki.

During the arms negotiations, Mbeki chaired a ministerial subcommittee responsible for approving the defence acquisition package..

He has said he cannot recall any meeting in France with representatives of Thomson-CSF, later called Thales International. The company's South African subsidiary, Thint, and former deputy president Jacob Zuma are facing charges of corruption.

Earlier this month, controversy erupted afresh over the awarding of the contract to build four corvettes to a German consortium.

The German media reported that Dusseldorf prosecutors were investigating whether DM30 million had been paid to South African politicians to secure the corvette deal.

Mbeki has said the multibillion-rand arms deal was concluded "by the book" and the auditor-general had found there had been no wrongdoing by the government.

The National Prosecuting Authority has declined to probe the German allegations. A spokesman said no new information had been presented.

With acknowledgements to Boyd Webb and Cape Times.