Quotes
Support for the Defence Industry
CBI: “The CBI's mission is to help create and sustain the conditions in which businesses in the United Kingdom can compete and prosper – that certainly includes the promotion of a large and successful defence sector. We take the view that legitimate businesses such as DSEi should be free to conduct its business in a legal and lawful manner.”
UKTI Defence & Security Organisation: “The defence and security sectors are an important part of the UK economy, contributing billions of pounds in exports each year, and providing tens of thousands of jobs in the United Kingdom. Defence and security companies are a very significant part of the UK’s high value manufacturing sector and our R&D base. These companies offer solutions to the legitimate defence and security needs of countries around the world, allowing these countries to protect their citizens, and building capacity to tackle insecurity around the world.”
Howard Wheeldon, analyst with BGC Partners: “Defence exports are very important to the UK economy, improving our balance of trade by about £5 billion a year and employing over 65,000 people. It is also something we happen to be good at and DSEi is an important showcase. “
Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, Conservative, International Development: “It is imperative that we remember that the British defence industry already adheres to some of the highest trade standards in the world.”
Ian Pearson MP: “The defence industry is important to the United Kingdom, not only as the bedrock of providing high-quality goods and services to our armed services, but through the role that arms exports and the jobs associated with them play in the UK's economy. A key to the continuing success of the industry is good regulation, which is where effective licence controls are relevant. The UK can be proud of the standards that it sets and maintains, but it is important continually to be challenged.”
Lord Mervyn Davies - then Minister for Trade, Investment and Business: “I am extremely keen to promote the breadth and the success of British manufacturing through UKTI. Drawing on UKTI’s wider experience in innovative marketing, UKTI DSO is working with industry to promote the UK’s defence and security offer, and its individual products and services. This presents a tremendous opportunity to ensure continued UK success in a fiercely competitive global market.”
Defence Matters on European ethical standards (quotes below): http://www.defenceinfo.org/news/UK-defence-industry-surges-ahead-on-European-ethic.aspx
Ian Godden, Chairman of ADS: “UK defence companies are committed to ethical behaviour of the highest standard. We are very pleased to note the excellent progress of the UK industry in adopting formal ethical business standards. This process is not a matter of a company simply signing a document and then doing nothing. Companies roll out the Common Industry Standards across their operations as well as committing to the standards on behalf of their business.
“We are also pleased to note excellent progress is also being made between ASD in Europe and AIA in the US in developing principles for ethics that can be applied globally.”
Rees Ward, Chief Executive of ADS: “With the strong commitment of the UK trade associations representing the British defence industry to act and be seen to act ethically it is tremendous news that so many firms have already signed up and rolled out the ASD Common Industry Standards. Larger firms have engaged their relevant departments to deliver the substance that underpins these signatures and as trade associations we have developed guidelines to assist smaller businesses that may not have this expertise in-house to do the same.”
Defence Matters on importance of industry to economy: http://www.defenceinfo.org/news/“Vital”-UK-industry-launches-Defence-Matters.aspx
Defence Matters on ethical defence industry (party conferences2008): http://www.defenceinfo.org/news/Ethical-defence-industry-on-show-at-Lib-Dem-confer.aspx
Defence Matters on industry standards and ATT: http://www.defenceinfo.org/message-six.aspx
Comments from the web regarding Clarion's involvement in other sectors
Foresters Friendly Society: “We screen our ethical investments such that we avoid investing in companies that are believed to be harmful to the environment, people, animals or wildlife. For example, companies with substantial involvement in arms manufacture, tobacco, pornography, animal testing or gambling would not be considered suitable. Working with Clarion Events does not breach this principle.”
Kimberly-Clark on behalf of Huggies: "Kimberly-Clark has exhibited at the Baby Show for a number of years. Our motivation for doing so is to reach parents-to-be and parents of babies and toddlers in an environment that allows them to shop for baby essentials, gain expert advice and receive product information.
"As a matter of policy, we do not involve ourselves in political issues; rather our mission is to enhance the health, hygiene and well-being of people every day, everywhere. We do that with our consumer-preferred products."
Mothercare: "Mothercare has a long and successful history of participating in the Baby Shows and, as the UK’s number one specialist retailer for mum-to-be and parents of young children, our presence at the shows is considered essential by visitors.
"We are assured by Clarion that its defence exhibitions serve only the legitimate defence and security industry. Exhibitors and visitors must adhere to the highest regulatory scrutiny. All exhibitors are contractually required to ensure that all equipment, services, documentation and any other forms of promotion comply with UK, EU and International Law."
Tommy's: "A significant proportion of exhibitors at Clarion Events' shows are responsible for providing the UK and other country’s armed services with equipment which is essential for the fulfilment of their humanitarian duties. Further, NGOs such as Oxfam recognise the right of nations to defend themselves and that a well-regulated and policed trade in legal weapons is legitimate."
"It must be stressed that Clarion Events’ exhibitions serve only the legitimate defence and security industry. They meet and exceed the requirements of the toughest possible rules and regulations."
Support for an International Arms Trade Treaty
John Hutton, Secretary of State for Defence (October 2008 – June 2009) Hansard 9 February 2009
“The Ministry of Defence fully supports the Government's effort to establish an Arms Trade Treaty that will help prevent the irresponsible trade in conventional weapons. The Department is an active member of the cross-Whitehall team led by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office that is taking forward this work within the United Nations. The cross-Whitehall team maintains a dialogue with defence industry through regular stakeholder group meetings. During 2009 this work will support the UN process, which is considering elements that might be included in an eventual legally binding treaty.”
David Miliband, Foreign Secretary The Independent, 9 September 2008
“The aim of an Arms Trade Treaty is to have a globally agreed set of standards to regulate the trade in all conventional arms. It would make the legitimate trade in arms more straightforward and reliable because it would introduce common global standards. It would make it a legal obligation for all countries to adopt uniform and high standards against which they would assess their arms exports to ensure that arms did not end up in the wrong hands. These standards would include the recipient country's respect for human rights and international humanitarian law.”
Hilary Benn, then Secretary of State for International Development: The Guardian, June 19, 2007
“Even a couple of years ago, the idea of an arms trade treaty seemed wildly idealistic. But last December, 153 states voted at the UN in favour of conducting negotiations on just such a treaty. It would not ban conventional arms or stop countries defending themselves, but it would close loopholes, shut down unscrupulous arms dealers and keep weapons out of the hands of human rights abusers. We have to make this process work.”
