THE Scottish Government will face a vote on suspending its support for arms companies in the wake of a weapons giant posting record profits, The National can reveal.
The Scottish Greens will next week demand that no more public money be spent on supporting weapons manufacturers after BAE Systems announced it had made a profit of £3 billion.
Co-leader Lorna Slater (below) said Wednesday’s vote would give MSPs the chance to “put their money where their mouth is and end all subsidies for the war profiteers making such a killing”.
She told The National: “The Israeli government has been condemned by the International Criminal Court and every reputable human rights organisation for the atrocities it has carried out against Palestinians, and now it is working with Donald Trump to ethnically cleanse Gaza.
“The Scottish Government has rightly stood against the genocide, but it continues to give public money to the arms dealers who are directly enabling it.
“Scotland can’t control UK foreign policy, but we can control where our public money goes and the companies and industries that we choose to support.”
The Greens in 2018 secured changes to the rules for public grants, requiring a human rights check to go ahead before money is handed over.
However, this has not stopped companies selling weapons to countries such as Israel and Saudi Arabia from receiving public cash.
Slater added: “If a human rights check still allows public money to flow to companies profiting from war crimes, then it’s clearly not fit for purpose.
“Every MSP who is horrified by the destruction in Gaza should support our motion and call for an end to government grants to the world’s biggest arms companies.”
Through its funding arm Scottish Enterprise, the Scottish Government has provided thousands to weapons companies, including BAE Systems.
It has defended this on the grounds that it funds subsidiaries, such as BAE Systems Surface Ships Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the firm, which operates shipyards at Govan and Scotstoun in Glasgow.
BAE System’s profits spiked last year amid a defence spending bonanza by governments fuelled by the crises in Ukraine and Gaza.
The company’s shipbuilding arm received £9600 from Scottish Enterprise in 2023 and £360,000 in the first half of 2024, according to Amnesty International.
The human rights group’s investigation also revealed that the PCS union, which represents civil servants, raised concerns that workers were “potentially complicit” by funding companies linked with Israel.
The Scottish Government has repeatedly insisted that it does not fund arms companies directly and that the money is spent on training, research and apprenticeships in Scotland’s defence industry, which collectively employs thousands throughout the country.
BAE Systems has said the public funding it receives allows it to “attract, retain and develop” workers and “secure the long-term viability of shipbuilding in Glasgow”.
Scottish Enterprise has said that the projects it funds do not involve weapons or munitions manufacture and that money is only spent on “agreed projects” which are consistent with Scottish and UK government policies.
