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A report due out today from academics and Ministry of Defence economists shows that the economic costs of reducing defence exports are relatively small and largely one-off. Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) have estimated that UK arms exports are subsidised directly and indirectly by around £820m. Some of this comes through the

The biggest defence project in history, the Pentagon’s £140 billion Joint Strike Fighter deal, was awarded to Lockheed Martin of the USA. The plan is to build 150 of the 4,000 strike fighters for the UK MoD. It has been claimed the potential economic spin-off for Uk companies is £50 billion of

CAAT would prefer to be welcoming the passing of the Export Control Bill in the House of Commons today. It is the first bill in 60 years intended to clamp down on damaging arms exports. CAAT welcomes the bill’s provision to curb the brokering of dangerous weaponry by UK citizens and companies. However three

COPEX Fails to Disclose Its Invitation List CAAT supporters staged a protest outside the COPEX exhibition on Sandown Racecourse today, disappointed that the exhibition’s new administration would not disclose which countries were represented by delegates. COPEX (Contingency and Operational Procurement Exhibition) exhibits surveillance, security, and riot control technology. Its main

Network for Peace, a coalition of more than 20 peace organisations, will be handing in petitions to 10 Downing St. at 10 a.m. today. Network for Peace has received more than 50,000 signatures calling for the de-militarisation of the response to the September 11 terrorist attacks. Petitioners are urging that, through international

CAAT is concerned that the UK minister attending the United Nations Small Arms Conference (which starts today), will have her credibility undermined by today’s second reading of the UK’s Export Control Bill. Richard Bingley of CAAT said: The UN desperately needs weapons controls to be rigorous and implemented by member states around

A UN Conference on Small Arms and Light Weapons in All its Aspects will meet from today (9th-20th July) in New York. The focus will be on rifles, machine guns, ammunition and mortars. In the lead-up to the conference, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan recently said: In an era where the world will no longer stand

CAAT are concerned that there are too few measures in the government’s export bill to combat problems caused by arms trading. The primary legislation announced today appears to be the start of a lost opportunity. The most immediate concern is the lack of an attempt to control licensed production abroad. Also, end-use