Arms dealers touring with David Cameron
Representatives from BAE Systems, Augusta Westland and other arms companies accompany the prime minister
Senior executives from six arms companies are accompanying David Cameron on his current tour of Asia. The prime minister has defended their presence in his delegation, saying he is happy to sell arms to Indonesia.
The Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) described the planned visit to Indonesia as ‘a sick joke’.
David Cameron said: ‘Britain makes some of the best defence equipment in the world and it is right that it is available to Indonesia, under the very same criteria that we apply to all of our partners around the world. That is why some of our leading defence companies are with me on this visit.’
The arms dealers travelling with the prime minister include representatives of BAE Systems and Augusta Westland.
Arms sales to Indonesia were at their most controversial in the 1990s, when the country’s regime used BAE’s Hawk jets to bomb East Timor. The UK government ended Hawk sales to Indonesia in 1999, after a long-running campaign, but other arms sales continue.
