Arms giant BAE Systems was grilled this morning (19 July) by the House of Commons International Development Committee over the methods by which it proposes to pay almost £30 million in “reparations” to the people of Tanzania ordered by the court in December 2010 between the company and the Serious Fraud Office (SFO).

Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) has denounced the process by which BAE Systems, the wrongdoer, is planning to distribute the funds, bypassing the government of Tanzania and disregarding the advice and expertise of the UK’s Department of International Development (DfID).

DFID told the Committee that funds should be distributed in accordance with an agreement between itself and the Tanzanian government, with money spent by schools on teaching materials and improved classroom facilities, including 4.4 million textbooks and 2 million desks, and teacher accommodation. 

The Committee urged BAE to think again on this and distribute the money fully in accordance with the plan before the Committee’s report is completed in early October.

Full press release

The owners of this fair are Clarion Events, who also own the Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEi) arms fair, a biennial event that takes place in east London, where countries with dubious human rights records are invited to buy the latest weapons.

London CAAT will be bringing the message that Clarion’s involvement in the arms trade is unacceptable and incompatible with their organisation of family-friendly events such as the Spirit of Summer Fair. Summery items, including a paddling pool, will be used to visualise the anti-arms trade message.

London CAAT will be at the show from 11am till 1pm on Saturday 14 May – the show takes place at the Olympia exhibition centre.

More info

The action reflects widespread public revulsion at UK arms sales to despotic regimes in the Middle East and North Africa who have used UK weaponry against peaceful protesters. A recent YouGov poll for the Sunday Times showed that 76% of the British public thought it was wrong to sell arms to Libya.

The petition is part of Campaign Against Arms Trade’s campaign “This is NOT OK” that highlights the government’s promotion of arms sales to repressive regimes and countries in conflict.

There is still time to sign the petition

More info here

They demanded a fundamental shift in the UK’s approach to arms sales: an end to the government promotion of arms exports and no more sales to repressive regimes and areas in conflict. A samba band played, while one of the protesters scaled the entrance to BIS to hang a banner above the entrance.

Read the full press release from Campaign Against Arms Trade

Approved arms export licences from the UK also rose over the same period, although not uniformly.

Algeria – £6.9 million in 2009 ; £8.5 million in 2008

Egypt- £16.4 million in 2009 ; £23.4 million in 2008

Libya – £27.4 million in 2009 ; £14.5 million in 2008

Morocco- £1.7 million in 2009 ; £1.8 million in 2008

Tunisia – £5.9 million in 2009 ; £1.6 million in 2008.

Algeria and Libya are identified as priority countries by UK Trade & Investment Defence & Security Organisation (UKTI DSO), the UK government’s arms sales unit. Algeria, Egypt, Libya and Morocco were invited to UK arms fairs Defence Security and Equipment International (DSEi) 2009 and the Farnborough Air Show in July 2010.

More info here: http://bit.ly/eOgTku

The owners of this show are Clarion Events who also own the Defence & Security Equipment International (DSEi) arms fair, a biennial event that takes place in east London, where countries with dubious human rights records are invited to buy the latest weapons. They also own six other arms fairs.

Most visitors won’t know of the link between the The Holiday & Travel Show and the arms trade. London CAAT aims to inform them of this link.

More info:

The Guardian London Graduate Fair, organised jointly with the Careers Group, University of London, is an annual event which provides many students with a valuable opportunity to talk face-to-face with potential employers.

However, this year, BAE Systems – the world’s largest arms producer – were allowed to exhibit at the fair and attempt to recruit graduates. Peaceful anti-BAE protesters, many of whom were students, were forcefully removed by security. BAE is beginning to expect opposition wherever it goes.

Both The Guardian and the Careers Group must refuse to host BAE Systems again.

• The Careers Group, University of London, services students from many educational institutions and states on its website that “as an Exempt Charity, income earned…goes directly to improving and developing services for students of the University of London”. In total its activities bring in over £2.5 million. But students have made clear that they do not want their education or career development funded in any part with money from the arms trade.

• The decision to accept money from BAE Systems undermines the recent efforts of students at various University of London colleges to sever the links between the arms trade and their universities (for instance the Disarm UCL campaign which last year resulted in success for student campaigners when the university announced it would divest from the arms manufacturer Cobham.)

• It also contradicts The Careers Group’s own Code of Practice, which states that it “reserves the right not to advertise vacancies for employment of a nature it deems might be liable to bring the University into disrepute.” Continuing to host BAE Systems – a company which has admitted to poor ethical standards and to charges of false accounting and making misleading statements in relation to allegations of corruption, resulting in a penalty of £30 million in the UK and a $400m (£257m) criminal fine to US – does just this.

We have also written to Guardian News and Media, asking them to exclude BAE from the fair.

It is unacceptable for the careers service of an institution of learning and a newspaper which prides itself on its award-winning investigations into claims of BAE corruption to have any kind of dealings with BAE Systems and to lend legitimacy to its corrupt and damaging practices.

We call on both parties to publicly refuse to allow BAE to exhibit at future Graduate Fairs.

Signed (all in a personal capacity)

Michael Chessum, UCL Union Education and Campaigns Officer
Greg Brown, UCL Union Environment and Ethics Officer
Charlotte Gerada, LSE Students’ Union General Secretary
Ashok Kumar, LSE Students’ Union Education Officer
Hero Austin, LSE Students’ Union Community and Welfare Officer
Elly Badcock, SOAS Union Secretary and NUS Women’s Committee
Sebilio Lillo, SOAS Union Finance & Communications Co-President
Jasper Kain, SOAS Union Sports & Societies Co-President
Bindz Patel, Goldsmiths Students’ Union President
James Haywood, Goldsmiths Students’ Union Campaigns & Communications Officer
Sean Rillo Raczka, Birkbeck SU Chair & NUS NEC Mature Students Officer
Tami Peterson, Birkbeck SU AR-AF Officer & NUS LGBT committee
Clare Solomon, University of London Students’ Union President
Maham Hashmi, NUS Black Students Committee
Natasha Wynarczyk
Emilie Tapping

and Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT)

20 December, 9.30am-10.30am
Southwark Crown Court, 1 English Grounds (off Battlebridge Lane), SE1 2HU (on the south side of the river between Tower Bridge and London Bridge)

BAE, arms supplier to some of the world’s most despicable regimes, will be in court on 20 December. The hearing, scheduled for 10am, is expected to rubber stamp a derisory settlement of £30 million to end years of investigations by the Serious Fraud Office. These involved allegations of corrupt payments made in Austria, Chile, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Qatar, Romania, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Tanzania totalling over £1billion.

The investigation regarding Saudi Arabia was dropped after the intervention of then Prime Minister Tony Blair. Earlier this year, the Serious Fraud Office agreed BAE could buy its way out of trouble with the rest. In return for pleading guilty to “accounting irregularities” in its deals with Tanzania, it would end all its investigations into BAE’s activities. It looks like BAE will once again escape real sanctions for corruption in its deadly deals. The settlement may mean that details of the investigations are kept from public scrutiny.

But the judge has the power to challenge the settlement. Join us outside the court to make our message loud and clear: Don’t let BAE get away with paying peanuts!

Please let us know if you’re planning on coming: outreach@caat.org.uk

Prince Andrew serves as a “Trade Ambassador” for UK Trade & Investment, which among other activities, is responsible for promoting British arms exports through its Defence & Security Organisation (UKTI DSO).

Kaye Stearman of Campaign Against Arms Trade said:

It is wrong that UKTI is promoting weapons sales and wrong that Prince Andrew is seen to be supporting arms sales and accepting corruption.This report shows that the relationship seems to go even deeper, with Prince Andrew speaking out against a government agency attempting to investigate corruption and arms deals. He should resign from his UKTI role immediately.

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Magistrate Catherine Tubbs today gave permission for the plea bargain settlement agreed between the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and BAE Systems to be heard at Southwark Crown Court in London on Monday 20 December. At this unprecedented hearing a judge will be asked to confirm the final settlement.

More info here