- Arms dealers will have to walk through a gauntlet of protesters when they meet for their annual swanky dinner at a top London hotel on Tuesday 30th January. Ticket prices range from £250 – £510 per head for the “prestigious event” that “brings together companies from across the UK’s aerospace, defence, security and space industries for a delightful evening of entertainment, dinner and networking.”
- Event sponsors for the ADS dinner include companies such as BAE Systems, Babcock and Moog that are complicit in the genocide the Israeli government is perpetrating against Palestinian people in Gaza. BAE Systems is the lead partner in providing components for the F35 combat aircraft that are currently bombarding Gaza.
- Previous dinners have been attended by some of the world’s biggest and worst arms companies. Although ADS has not revealed its speaker or guest list, in previous years over 40 MPs, including senior government ministers, have attended to schmooze with arms dealers.
- Since 2015, the UK has licenced over £487m worth of arms to Israel in single issue licenses. However, this does not include open licenses where companies can export unlimited amounts of specified equipment without further reporting requirements. One of these open licenses is for components for the F35 stealth combat aircraft that Israel is currently using to bombard Gaza. UK industry makes 15% of each F35, and Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) estimates the value of the F35 contract is at least £336m since 2016. These figures do not include licenses issued since 7th October due to a lag in reporting arms export data
- Foreign Secretary David Cameron recommended continuing arms sales to Israel on 12th December 2023, despite previous Foreign Office assessments stating there were “serious concerns” about breaches of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and Israel’s commitment and ability to comply with IHL. Cameron further accepted that Israel has a different interpretation of its IHL obligations.
- The ICJ ruling on 26th January has led to increased calls on the UK government to stop arms exports to Israel. The UK has a legal obligation to stop arms exports if there is a clear risk they could be used in violations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL), and under the Genocide Convention which places obligations on states to take action to prevent and punish genocide.
- The protest, organised by London Campaign Against Arms Trade, will take place from 6pm at the JW Marriott Grosvenor House Hotel, Park Lane, London
CAAT’s Media Coordinator Emily Apple stated:
“This is a vile event aimed at enabling arms dealers to sell more weapons to fuel conflict across the world.
“Marketing this event as ‘delightful ‘is outrageous. There is nothing delightful about enabling genocide, and killing Palestinian children. The very people attending this dinner are complicit in war crimes. They are dining on the profits of genocide.
“However, the protest will ensure the evening is far from delightful for these merchants of death, and will remind them of the consequences of their murderous deals.”
