AT WESTMINSTER, arms firms – including those who have sold weapons to Israel – are currently enjoying a lobbying blitz.
It comes as the new UK Labour Government has ushered in the biggest sustained increase in defence spending since the Cold War.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced in February that the UK would increase spending on defence up to 2.5% of GDP by April 2027, raiding the international development budget.
The 144-page-long Strategic Defence Review released last month details how the UK is moving to a position of “war-fighting” readiness, including committing to procuring up to 7000 domestically built long-range weapons.
Look no further than the newly created All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Defence Technology.
This informal cross-party group at Westminster was only created in January 2025 but has hit the ground running with a swish website where it says it is looking to “partner” with defence firms who can then buy exclusive access to Westminster MPs and policy makers.
Demand has certainly been high. At least 37 arms firms – including industry titans Leonardo and Lockheed Martin – have already sponsored the group according to its website.
Leonardo, which has a factory in Edinburgh, is known to have produced targeting systems for Israel’s F-35 fighter jets, which have been used to bombard Gaza.
Lockheed Martin – the world’s largest arms company – also contributes parts to F-35 fighter jets.
Membership comes with its perks. So-called “Tier 1 Partners” – which the APPG recommends to start-ups – can get access to “all organised meetings” and “opportunities to network with MPs and policymakers” for just £1499 (below).
The APPG register claims the group has already received between £60,001-£61,500 for a group “secretary” from these firms.
Declassified UK reported earlier this month that RUK Advanced Systems Ltd, a weapons firm which is owned by the Israeli government, also donated at least £1499 to the group.
Of the 30 MPs involved in the APPG, five are from Scottish Labour, including Gordon McKee (Glasgow South), Graeme Downie (Dunfermline and Dollar), Lillian Jones (Kilmarnock and Loudon), Kenneth Stevenson (Airdrie and Shotts) and Chris Kane (Stirling and Strathallan).
Other MPs on the group include Neil Shastri-Hurst (co-chair), Fred Thomas (co-chair), Sarah Bool (officer), Anna Gelderd (officer), Luke Akehurst and Iain Duncan Smith.
Meanwhile, another new Westminster group this year – the Defence and Security Sectors Supporting Local Communities APPG – is also funded by the arms industry, with the ADS group – the industry body for the arms industry – funding its secretary to the tune of £16,501- 18,000, according to the register.
The ADS group also contributes funding to the APPG for Aviation, Travel and Aerospace.
Meanwhile, arms firms BAE Systems and Babcock International – alongside other organisations – pay for the secretary for the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Apprenticeships to the tune of £54,001-£55,500.
This type of lobbying and private firms sponsoring Westminster APPGs isn’t new.
For years, concerns have been raised that they can operate as a “back door” for lobbyists.
In 2021, the parliament’s standards watchdog warned that a new Westminster lobbying scandal could be sparked by the actions of MPs sitting on these informal committees.
Labour's Chris Bryant – who chaired the committee at the time and is now a minister in Starmer’s government – said he feared some APPGs were being used as a "backdoor" for commercial interests.
Anti-corruption campaign group Transparency International has also expressed concerns.
Rose Whiffen, a senior research officer at Transparency International UK, told the Sunday National: "All-Party Parliamentary Groups serve an important function in bringing expertise to Parliament, and encouraging cross-party work. When defence companies can buy access to MPs and policymakers, it raises serious questions about whether APPGS are being exploited by private interests seeking to influence decision-makers.
"To avoid the next major lobbying scandal, we need much greater openness and accountability in how APPGs operate, with clear rules preventing them from being used as backdoors for commercial influence."
Meanwhile, Scottish Greens MSP Maggie Chapman said: “That Westminster has allowed an official group to form where multinational arms dealers and foreign governments like Israel are paying to access a large group of MPs and peers through the backdoor is frankly astonishing.
“If this represents the level of lobbying and ethics regulation in London, then it’s no surprise the UK consistently ends up supplying weapons to tyrants and war criminals around the world. It shames Scotland to be associated with it.”
The APPG for Defence Technology didn't respond to a request for comment.
