Amnesty International says Lichfield factory protest is ‘understandable’, 5 Aug 2014

A protest against the manufacture of drone engines in Lichfield is “understandable”, according to Amnesty International. Members of the London Palestine Action Group have chained themselves to the roof of the UAV Engines factory...Their protest centres around what they say is the use of parts made by the firm in Israeli drone technology...Amnesty International UK Arms Programme Campaign Manager Oliver Sprague, Amnesty International UK’s arms programme campaign manager, said: “It’s understandable that protesters are targeting UAV Engines given past concerns about the company supplying Israel with engines for drones.“The government has previously claimed UAV Engines is only licensed to sell drone engines to Israel for onward export, but the fear is that this Israeli-owned company’s engines are actually powering Israeli drones over Gaza, or that the technology is being copied to allow Israel to fly its drone vehicles. “Do we really want to see engines from Lichfield helping the Israeli military carry out war crimes in Gaza? “Quite frankly no UK-based company should currently be supplying the Israeli military with any arms or equipment. “Before these protests escalate, Downing Street should announce an immediate suspension of any further arms to Israel. We should not be complicit in war crimes.”