UK: BAE Systems had more meetings with British prime ministers than any other private company, report says
"UK leaders hold more meetings with BAE Systems than any other company, report says"
Research from activist group and foundation reveals that Britain's largest weapons company met the government once every three days between 2012-2023
Between 2012 and 2023, weapons company BAE Systems had more meetings with British prime ministers than any other private company, according to new research from a UK-based anti-arms campaign group and a US-based foundation.
A new report, published this month by Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) and World Peace Foundation (WPF), details the arms industry’s close relationship with the government, arguing that “the lines between the two have been virtually erased".
The report points to an “unparalleled level of access for the arms industry to the top levels of government".
Sam Perlo-Freeman, CAAT's research coordinator, who authored the report, said: "It is not like any other industry.
"It is seen as an absolutely crucial strategic asset by the government for enabling the UK to have the weapons from its own designs to project power around the world," he said at a launch for the report earlier this month.
'The arms industry isn’t influencing from outside. It is influencing from inside'Sam Perlo-Freeman, author of the report
BAE Systems, the country’s largest arms manufacturer, is at the top of the list, having secured around one meeting every three days - 1,238 in total over the period. Rolls-Royce secured 321 meetings, Leonardo 313 and Lockheed Martin 283.
This is despite BAE Systems ranking only 15th on the FTSE index by market capitalisation.
A BAE Systems spokesperson said: “As the UK’s largest defence company, employing more than 45,000 people in the UK with thousands more in the supply chain, we regularly engage with UK Government representatives to increase awareness and understanding of the significant contribution our industry makes to the UK’s security and prosperity.”[...]
But the report concludes that, while the revolving door "almost certainly plays a significant role" in strengthening the industry's influence, an open-plan office is a more apt metaphor.
"Industry has become so deeply embedded in government that it is almost a part of the state itself," it says.