Grants to arms companies seemingly waived through on a regular basis

FOI requests reveal that over £3.5 million in grants have been awarded to major arms companies since January 2023

‘When Scottish public money has been awarded to arms companies involved in the manufacture of F-35 jets used as part of Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, looking the other way can is no longer an option’ – Neil Cowan

Amnesty International has today warned MSPs that the Scottish Government is not taking seriously its concerns about public funding for arms companies.

The organisation said Deputy First Minister and Economy Secretary Kate Forbes failed to adequately address Amnesty’s concerns about awarding public money to arms companies linked to states accused of serious human rights violations – and told MSPs to demand ministers acknowledge their international obligations.

The warning comes ahead of a Scottish Parliament debate today (Wednesday 26 February) on ending all Scottish Government support for arms companies involved in the sale of arms to Israel, led by the Scottish Greens.

Recent freedom of information (FOI) requests submitted to the Scottish Government and Scottish Enterprise by Amnesty revealed that over £3.5 million in grants have been awarded to major arms companies, including ones linked to Israel and Saudi Arabia, since January 2023. The FOI responses also confirmed no company has ever failed Scottish Enterprise’s human rights checks.

Following the FOI disclosures, Amnesty wrote to Kate Forbes on 11 November 2024. In the letter, Amnesty Scotland expressed concern that Scotland may be failing to meet its international obligations and called on Forbes to launch an urgent review of Scottish Enterprise’s human rights checks and of Scottish Enterprise’s funding for arms companies. After receiving a response to that letter on 23 February, Amnesty have described it as “not good enough” with ever growing concern that the issue is not being taken seriously by the Scottish Government. In the letter, Forbes failed to respond directly to questions around the monitoring and impact of the grants and instead placed responsibility on Scottish Enterprise.

Neil Cowan, Scotland Director at Amnesty International UK, said:

“The Deputy First Minister’s response to our letter is not good enough. It underlines our deep concern that the Scottish Government is not taking seriously its potential indirect complicity in international humanitarian law violations or crimes against humanity, including genocide.

“We have repeatedly stated our view that, with grants to arms companies seemingly waived through on a regular basis, the credibility and robustness of Scottish Enterprise’s human rights checks are seriously undermined.

“When Scottish public money has been awarded to arms companies involved in the manufacture of F-35 jets used as part of Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, looking the other way can is no longer an option.

“MSPs should use today’s Scottish Parliament debate to demand the Scottish Government acknowledges its international obligations in relation to funding for arms companies and takes urgent steps to ensuring those obligations are being met.”