Protest to be held outside city ‘arms fair’

ARMS manufacturers will be meeting to show off their services and wares at an exhibition in Cardiff next week.

Critics have branded Tuesday’s event Cardiff Arms Fair.

But a spokesman for BiP Solutions, the organisers of the Defence Procurement, Research, Technology and Exportability (DPRTE) show, said the show did “not deal in the trading of armaments”.

The DPRTE homepage shows images of a tank, gunship, helicopter, plane and submarine.

Exhibitors include arms firm BAE Systems and the UK Defence Solutions Centre – unveiled by David Cameron in 2014 to develop new defence technology.

Deirdre Murphy, of Stop Cardiff Arms Fair, said: “This was going on in Bristol but the protests there were so strong against it was kicked out of Bristol and ended up at Cardiff at the Motorpoint Arena and it has been there for the last two years. This is the third time.

“This year is going to be bigger than before – there are a lot of organisations signed up.”

The mum of three, grandmother of six and great-grandmother of one said she expected demonstrators numbering in the “high hundreds” to arrive from “early in the morning” ahead of the event.

“We’ll have banners and music and speakers and people serving free vegetarian food,” Deirdre said.

“There will be people attending from all around the country.”

A BiP Solutions spokesman said: “DPRTE does not deal in the trading of armaments and instead is designed to support the vast range of suppliers to the UK’s defence procurement industry, which includes a broad range of non-military suppliers working across a number of sectors.

“The DPRTE exhibition will help businesses to discover how they can capitalise on the UK Government’s target to ensure 25% of defence procurement spending goes to small to medium enterprises.

“Currently, MoD spending plans outline £178bn of investment in new technology and equipment between 2016 and 2026 and a commitment to meet Nato’s target of spending 2% of national income on defence every year until 2020.”

He said in Wales, the defence and aerospace sectors contributed £5bn to the economy.

“DPRTE covers all aspects of the defence industry with a focus on cyber security this year,” the spokesman said.

“Public sector attendees include MoD, local councils, central government departments, universities/colleges, housing associations, emergency services, international government organisations – all of these sectors can take something away from the event.”

The spokesman said most attending from the private sector were small or medium-sized traders looking to improve by working with the defence sector.

“These organisations are generally supplying common goods and services,” the spokesman said.

A Motorpoint Arena spokesman said: “Motorpoint Arena Cardiff takes its position within the local and national community very seriously.

“We recognise the importance of supporting local businesses in their ability to grow and expand both locally and internationally and see the DPRTE event as a platform and opportunity for such growth.”