SCOTLAND’S largest local authority is considering introducing an ethical events policy after being criticised for supporting an arms fair.
David McDonald, the deputy leader of SNP-led Glasgow City Council, set out the proposal at a meeting of councillors on Thursday. His suggestion came after the administration was pressed by Jon Molyneux, a councillor from the Scottish Greens. They have been campaigning against next month’s event at the Scottish Events Campus, which is 90% owned by the council.
McDonald told a full meeting of the council that the authority made a competitive bid in November 2016 to host the event and was shortlisted along with Liverpool for the contract. It won the deal in July last year. He said the administration currently had no policy about the types of events it might or might not wish to support and this was something it may want to review.
Molyneux said after the meeting that he thought the position of the SNP – which is opposed to nuclear weapons and has taken a high-profile stance against the sale of UK arms to Saudi Arabia – was “confused”.
He urged the administration to withdraw support for the Undersea Defence Technology (UDT) 2018 conference which will be attended by military suppliers such as BAE Systems and Leonardo. Babcock, which makes parts of the Trident nuclear submarines, is one of the main sponsors. Molyneux said: “Councillor McDonald said he would address my call for an ethical events policy in the coming weeks, which is very welcome. But it’s not clear whether that will have any bearing on council support for next month’s event. We need clarity on that urgently.
“Also, if Councillor McDonald now agrees there is a need for an ethical events policy, why not come out and admit that is because the council has got it wrong in supporting this particular event? The SNP can’t have it both ways – claiming an ethical foreign policy and anti-nuclear stance while defending cosy corporate get-togethers for arms companies, Trident architects and their elite clients.”
BAE Systems makes Eurofighter jets, an aircraft that been used by Saudi forces to bomb people in Yemen, while Leonardo has been linked to arms being used by Turkish forces in Afrin in Syria.
Glasgow City Council has previously maintained the decision to host the event was taken by officials, that it is expected to generate £130 million for the local economy and that the event was held in the city in 2008 when the authority was under Labour control.
Along with the defence firms, People Make Glasgow, which manages and promotes leisure and culture services for Glasgow city council, is one of the event’s sponsors.
More than 1000 people from 40 nations will attend the event, billed as “the underwater defence and security community’s most relevant exhibition and conference.”
Speakers will include Moises DelToro, commander of the Naval Undersea Warfare Centre of the US Navy.
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