E SKINTERPRIS
OF EQUIPMENT MARKETED TO CRUEL REGIMES
considerationsconsiderations, then why was this radar being promoted to human r i g ht s - abusing regimes at an arms fair?”
He a dded :
“Real diversi f ication means developing peaceful civilian products, not offering millions of pounds worth of funding for military technology.
“The Scottish Government owes the people of Scotland a ful l explanation for allocating the funds to huge, profitable arms makers such as Leonardo.
“The words inscribed on the mace in the Scottish Parliament are ‘wisdom’, ‘ justice’, ‘compassion’ and ‘ integrity’. We urge the Government to do all it can to live up to those values. An important step must be for it to stop funding companies that profit from war and conflict.”
Andrew Smith, of Campaign Against Arms Trade, said: “Public money should be used for the public good, not to develop military equipment to be marketed to human rights abusers and dictatorships. The regimes that attend DSEI are going there for one reason – and that is to buy weapons.
“Funding the development of military radars is not diversification. What else is Scottish Enterprise spending public money on?
“It’s time for transparency. The Scottish Government must publish all of the details about what arms companies it has given money to and what projects that money has been used to fund.”
Scott ish Enterpr ise said : “We provided Leonardo with research and development grant funding in support of
the diversification of its business. This included the development of the Osprey radar solution, which was first utilised by Norway’s search and rescue services in line with our policy of helping companies in the aerospace, defence and marine sector develop civilian applications for their technologies.
“However, if the technology has the potential to support security and safety efforts, for example on the version of the MQ- 8C configured for protective surveillance, then it could be deployed in that capacity.
“We work closely with the companies we support to ensure the projects we part-fund are delivered in line with the expected economic impacts.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The export of arms is the responsibility of the UK Government and we expect them to properly police such exports and to properly investigate any concerns raised.
“The Scottish Government does not provide funding for the manufacture of munitions – either directly or via Scottish Enterprise. The support provided is focused on helping firms to diversify and develop non-military applications for their technology and ensure Scotland continues to benefit from the thousands of jobs in the defence, aerospace and shipbuilding sectors.
“Human rights are part of the Scottish Enterprise application process, which extends the due diligence checking on investment decisions that was already taking place in Scotland.”