Seven peers work for arms firms involved with Israel’s weapons trade, while another six hold shares in companies that supply the Israeli military, our research into the House of Lords has found.
The value of these individual shareholdings is likely to be over £100,000 each, and is certain to have increased since 7 October.
Among the peers are two former defence ministers, an ex-cabinet secretary and two retired heads of the UK armed forces.
Our revelation raises concerns about how British parliamentarians are financially benefiting from the suffering in Gaza, with activists accusing them of “profiting from genocide”.
Campaign Against Arms Trade expressed alarm at how these unelected legislators could use their influence in Westminster to promote the interests of weapons manufacturers.
Pearson Engineering
The most controversial case centres on Lord John Hutton, who was defence and trade secretary under New Labour.
In 2022, he was appointed as the chair and non-executive director of Pearson Engineering, an arms company in Newcastle.
The move came just weeks after Pearson was taken over by Israel’s state-owned arms giant Rafael, as part of its “strategic expansion into the United Kingdom”.
Rafael was founded in 1948 under the Israel Defence Forces’ (IDF) Military Science Corps, and currently makes many of the missiles and drones that Israel is using to bomb Gaza.
While Rafael’s largest client is the IDF, the company’s president and CEO, Yoav Har-Even, was recently tasked with investigating the Israeli airstrike which killed seven aid workers in Gaza, three of whom were British military veterans.
Pearson Engineering manufactures armoured vehicle parts and de-mining equipment for the British army. The company’s accounts now acknowledge that the Israeli state has “significant control” of the company.
Hutton did not respond to a request for comment. A statement on Pearson’s website about Gaza claims: “The IDF does not currently use any Pearson Engineering equipment”.
However Hutton might not be averse to them doing so. As trade secretary, he vowed to strengthen ties between Israel and the UK and, as defence secretary, he was named in a lawsuit over UK arms exports to Israel.
Pearson Engineering’s other recently-appointed directors demonstrate its close ties to both the Israeli parent company and the British military. They include Nick Pope, the former deputy chief of the British army’s general staff, Ran Gozali, Rafael’s executive vice president, and Yoram Aron, Rafael’s managing director in the UK.