A FORMER British military officer broke Ministry of Defence (MoD) rules to meet with Israel's largest weapons manufacturer ahead of its bid for a major contract, it has been alleged.
On Thursday, The National reported how Elbit Systems is said to be close to signing a £2 billion contract with the Labour Government which would see it train up to 60,000 British soldiers a year.
The arms firm has played a major role in supplying Israel with weaponry for its genocide in Gaza, providing around 85% of Israel's drones and land-based military equipment.
Elbit Systems is bidding against Raytheon for the Army Collective Training Service contract – formerly the Collective Training Transformation Programme (CTTP) – after the MoD reduced the bidders to two in February.
The Times now reports that a former British military officer, Brigadier Philip Kimber (pictured), attended a key meeting with Elbit System's UK wing in the weeks after he left the army.
He reportedly joined the meeting to discuss how to win the contract, which he had led when he was at the MoD.
It has been alleged that he sat out of view of a camera, declaring that he "should not be there".
A dossier shared with The Times allegedly contains 19 incidents which a whistle-blower claimed showed Kimber joined meetings in breach of the MoD's business appointment rules.
The paper reports that emails, WhatsApp messages, and calendar invites refer to his involvement in meetings and conversations around the bid.
An MoD source said that Kimber had signed a business appointments letter, which stated that he "will not be involved in CTTP until an agreed 'cooling-off period' has elapsed". This period reportedly expired on June 26, 2023.
Under conditions outlined by business appointment rules, it was alleged Kimber was told he "should not provide advice to any company or organisation on the terms of, or with regard to the subject matters of, a bid or contract relating directly to the work of the MoD or its trading funds".
The rules also stated that "you should not draw on … any information available to you from your time in Crown Service which could be reasonably perceived to give them an unfair advantage over any competitions they may have".
The MoD conducted an investigation into the dossier after it was submitted to a whistle-blowing hotline following advice from the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (ACBOA).
Following the investigation, the MoD ruled that Elbit Systems had gained no commercial advantage and could continue in the competition.
The Times said the MoD had been unable to clarify whether it found Elbit Systems had breached the UK Government's business appointment rules.
However, defence analyst Francis Tusa told the paper that it seemed to be "a clear breach of the rules".
They said: "A dossier of emails and WhatsApp appear to show a crucial – and questionable – overlap between the months after the departure of the senior officer who was running CTTP and him actively advising Elbit about that programme when he was under certain restrictions.
"If the dossier’s dates do stack up, I can’t understand the MoD’s ‘nothing to see here’ approach – it would seem to me to be a clear breach of the rules. I wouldn’t be surprised if the opposing consortium did not file a formal complaint."
Elbit Systems UK said that it "follows the requirements and procedures advised by the ACOBA regarding our employees who have served in the UK armed forces".
An MoD spokesperson said: “The individual was not employed by the army at the time of the contract advert, pre-qualification questionnaire or invitation to negotiate.
"The competition for the army’s Collective Training Transformation Programme remains ongoing and no commercial advantage has been gained by any company.
"We follow strict procurement protocols to ensure fairness, value for taxpayers, and adherence to regulations.”
Elbit Systems was one of the major targets for Palestine Action, before it was proscribed as a terror organisation on July 5.
On July 1, activists blocked the entrance to the firm's factory in Bristol, in England, where they covered the building in red paint to “symbolise Palestinian bloodshed”.
Activists in Scotland have also targeted Elbit Systems. In May, two companies linked to the weapons manufacturer – Allianz and BNY Mellon – were sprayed with red paint by Palestine Action.
Since the proscription order came into effect, membership of or support for the direct action group is a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
