United Kingdom

Activists in Germany and the UK organised actions during public military days in their countries.

In the United Kingdom, campaigners have been resisting arms fairs being held in their cities. In Glasgow, dozens of activists held noisy protests outside the Undersea Defence Technology exhibition and conference, held at the cities Scottish Events Campus (SEC). In Farnborough and London, activists protested against the Farnborough International Airshow - biannual, week-long event, combining a public air show with an international trade show attended by military delegations from all over the world.

On Thursday 2nd August, over 40 artists descended on the Design Museum in London to remove their submissions to an exhibition called "Hope to Nope", a collection of pieces designed and used by activists over the last ten years, including banners, placards, and props. The artists and activists who contributed pieces to the exhibition were protesting against the museum hosting an event that facilitated the arms trade.

A new report from Corruption Watch UK covers a number of corruption scandals involving the Italian arms company Leonardo.

Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) have been granted permission to continue to pursue it's legal case against the British government regarding arms sales to Saudi Arabia. On 4th May two Court of Appeal judges granted CAAT permission to appeal, and the case will be heard by the Court of Appeal in the months ahead.

Elbit Systems, an “international defence electronics company” is Israel's largest weapons producer. Through it's subsidiaries around the world, the company produces a wide variety of high-tech products for the military and security industry.

On Monday 9th April ‘The People’s Weapons Inspectors’ blocked the gates of arms manufacturer Roxel in the UK, and attempted to inspect the site. The inspectors believe that the site is supplying weapons components that could be used by the Saudi Arabian military to commit war crimes against the people of Yemen.

Thales is a French company, part owned by the French government, that builds a vast range of radars, sonars and electronic surveillance satellites, tactical communication systems and combat management systems, drones, helicopter avionics, armoured vehicles, mortar systems and missiles.

Across Europe, activists have been resisting arms sales to Saudi Arabia, destined to be used the ongoing war in Yemen. Saudi Arabia's bombing campaign has seen many thousands of civilians killed.

In London, activists arrested taking nonviolent direct action against the DSEI arms fair have been in court in a series of trials. A large number of the defendants – mainly accused of obstruction of the highway – have been acquitted or had their cases dropped, successfully arguing that they were acting within their human rights to protest peacefully.

The British government sanctioned the sale of spy equipment – capable of intercepting, tracking, and monitoring emails, mobile phones, and messaging services like WhatsApp – to Honduras, shortly before a recently disputed election.

Each month, we will feature a different WRI affiliate. This month it's the Peace Pledge Union from the UK.

The Peace Pledge Union (PPU) is the British section of War Resisters’ International. As a pacifist network, we challenge militarism, campaign for dis- armament, promote active nonviolence and produce resources to provide education for peace.