Arms trade news

Arms companies are currently rubbing their hands with glee as they eye up UK universities full of highly skilled students. Over at the University of Manchester, BAE Systems have been exploiting students’ labour to develop new types of drones that will have the potential to be used in conflicts around the world. At Cranfield University, […]

Elle Spencer reports for Liverpool Life magazine about concerns over the University of Liverpool’s links with the arms trade. Students, activists and concerned citizens alike gathered in the Liverpool Guild of Students on Monday to discuss the University of Liverpool’s alleged involvement with the arms trade. Campaigner Greg Dropkin, who spoke at the meeting and […]

Lockheed Martin, the world’s largest arms company, has announced the relocation of some of its Scotland offices to Glasgow, citing Glasgow’s “flagship universities” as a key reason for the move. This is another clear example of how much UK universities are relied on for propping up the arms trade. Lockheed Martin is the world’s largest […]

The University of Edinburgh, which is already under pressure from divestment groups pushing for a withdrawal from fossil fuel companies, has pledged to hold an arms review group in the summer. A spokesman for the university said: “An Armaments Review Group will be established to review questions around investments in armaments companies. “Just like the […]

Students across the country have gone into occupation demanding, amongst other things, a fairer education system and an end to university links with the arms trade. Occupy LSE We demand that the school cuts its ties to exploitative and destructive organisations, such as those involved in wars, military occupations and the destruction of the planet. This includes […]

Information uncovered by NUS Scotland shows that Scottish Universities including Edinburgh, Glasgow, Strathclyde and Aberdeen-based Robert Gordon have nearly £3 million invested in companies linked to the arms trade. Including £1.3m invested by Glasgow University in a number of firms including BAE Systems. Kirsty Haigh, of NUS Scotland, said it was “shameful” universities were still […]

BAE Chairman Roger Carr’s visit to speak at the University of Southampton last week was met with fierce opposition from students and locals. Students from the university joined forces with Southampton Campaign Against Arms Trade to show their opposition to BAE Systems and highlight the links between the university and the destructive arms industry. A lively protest took place outside […]

The University of Edinburgh is under renewed pressure to completely disinvest from the arms industry after over 50 academics signed an open letter calling for the institution to divest from the arms trade and fossil fuels. The University of Edinburgh’s endowment fund is the third largest in the UK valued at £230 million. The calls build on the enormous […]

The University of Sheffield received nearly £30m from companies involved in the arms trade in the past five years, a Freedom of Information request by The Free University of Sheffield has found. Rolls-Royce, which produces military aircraft engines and earns 23 per cent of its turnover from arms, invested £4,730,924 in the University last year […]