UK is the world’s second biggest arms dealer

But campaigners say weapons exports are a "source of great shame"

Britain won orders for more than £11 billion of ships, aeroplanes and weapons last year - sealing its position as the world's second largest arms exporter. In the last 10 years, UK defence firms have signed contracts worth $125bn (£97bn). That puts the nation behind the USA ($341bn), which dominates the global arms market, but ahead of Russia ($98bn) and France ($78bn).

Significant deals have included sales of Typhoon aircraft to Saudi Arabia, Typhoons and Brimstone missiles to Qatar, Hawk aircraft to India, helicopters to Norway and South Korea, and patrol boats to Brazil.

While there were no 'major platform orders' similar to ones UK arms firms have secured in the past decade, like a large deal to sell helicopters to Norway and France.

That included sales of the Type 26 frigate to Austria and Typhoon and Hawk aircraft to the Middle East.

New figures, published by the Department of International Trade, show the £11bn received in orders last year was £3bn less than in 2018, but was still the second highest figure since 1983 and cornered a 16 per cent share of the global market.

The UK arms industry is dominated by aerospace, which includes radars and missiles in addition to aircraft like the Eurofighter Typhoon jet plane.

Almost 60 per cent of orders went to the Middle East, and Saudi Arabia is by far the largest buyer of arms in the world.

Exports to other European nations accounted for 20 per cent of the total orders - up from nine per cent the year before - and 16 per cent went to North America.

But campaigners say the figures should be a "source of great shame".

The Campaign Against Arms Trade ( CAAT) says British-made fighter jets, missiles and bombs have been used in the Saudi-led bombing of Yemen.

Last year the Court of Appeal ruled the government acted unlawfully when it licensed the sale of arms to Saudi-led forces for use in Yemen without making an assessment on whether international humanitarian law had been violated by past incidents.

Andrew Smith, of CAAT, said: “Arms dealers will be celebrating, but these figures should be a source of great shame. Boris Johnson and his colleagues are always talking about ‘Global Britain' and the importance of human rights and democracy, but they are arming and supporting repression around the world.

“These sales are not just numbers on a spreadsheet: for people around the world they could be a matter of life and death.

“UK-made weapons have played a devastating role in the Saudi-led bombing of Yemen, helping to create the worst humanitarian crisis in the world.

“Wherever there is conflict there will always be arms companies trying to profit from it. This profiteering does not just enable war, it actively fuels it. The sales being approved today could be used in atrocities and abuses for many years to come.”

The DIT said it did not issue export licenses unless they met strict criteria. It added that the UK is "deeply concerned" about the ongoing conflict and humanitarian crisis in Yemen, and fully supports the peace process.

A DIT spokesperson said: “The defence and security industries have a strong record of export success, which helps to maintain thousands of high-quality jobs across the UK.

“We continue to support these responsible industries and help UK exporters win business overseas and achieve their international business potential.”