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LABOUR have been accused of “regurgitating rejected Tory policies” with a call to class defence firm investments as ethical.
It comes after more than 100 Labour MPs and peers urged financial institutions to class UK defence investments as ethical.
In an open letter on Thursday, the group called for a “rethink” on environmental, social and governance (ESG) investment requirements that often exclude defence firms as “unethical”.
The move is intended to boost support for Ukraine as pressure mounts on Europe to bolster defence spending in the fallout from a disastrous Oval Office meeting between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
But the Scottish Greens have hit out, saying that “nothing about delivering deadly weapons to regimes such as Israel, Saudi Arabia, or Egypt is ethical in any way”.
The party’s co-leader Patrick Harvie (below) said: “Keir Starmer’s Labour Government regurgitating rejected Conservative policies is hardly surprising, but a state-funded PR campaign on behalf of the arms industry is a shocking decision.”
Chancellor Rachel Reeves recently promised to cut red tape to make it easier for the Government to buy military equipment earlier and widened the parameters of the National Wealth Fund to drive investment in the defence sector.
Asked on Thursday about whether Number 10 agrees that missiles and fighter jets should count as ethical investments, a Downing Street spokesperson said: “The only ethical issue, the main ethical issue at stake here is that Russia has launched this barbaric invasion of Ukraine and they could end this war today by withdrawing their troops.
“Our commitment to Ukraine remains unwavering.”
The previous Tory government also called for defence investment to be classed as ESG.
Last April, then-prime minister Rishi Sunak said the government wanted to encourage private sector investment in the sector, stating that it counts “beyond doubt” towards ESG assessments.
“Arms dealers profit from delivering death, destruction and misery across the world. But they couldn’t do it without the complicity and support of governments like the UK,” Harvie added.
“UK-made weapons are playing an instrumental role in Israel’s genocide of Palestinians, the Saudi bombing of Yemen and the Rwandan invasion of the DR Congo. British arms sales have caused some of the worst humanitarian crises in the world, yet Labour want them to continue.
“With the powers of an independent nation, Scotland could take a different path towards building a fairer country that stands up for human rights and ends war profiteering for good.”
