Blood Money: Britain’s Dirty Secret in the Arms Trade

Introduction: The Profits of War

We are a nation that once took pride in championing human rights on the world stage. But behind the diplomatic veneer lies a multi-billion-pound shadow economy that fuels war, destabilisation, and- increasingly - accusations of complicity in war crimes.

British arms sales to conflict zones have become one of the most controversial, least transparent facets of UK foreign policy. While our leaders proclaim support for international law and peacekeeping, British-made bombs fall on cities from Yemen to Gaza, dropped by regimes we supply and support.

In 2025, amid the devastation in Gaza and escalating tensions worldwide, the question is no longer whether the UK should stop arms sales to known violators of international law, but why it hasn't already.

The Gaza Revelation: When Arms Control Meets War Crimes

In April 2024, the UK government quietly suspended 30 arms export licences to Israel. It was the first meaningful crack in a wall of unwavering military support. As reported by Middle East Eye, the suspension followed mounting evidence that Israeli forces were committing grave breaches of international humanitarian law in Gaza.

The move, however, wasn’t proactive. It came only after months of public pressure, international condemnation, and legal scrutiny. The UK had already approved hundreds of millions of pounds in military equipment to Israel, even as reports poured in of strikes on schools, hospitals, and residential areas.

Let’s be clear: this wasn't a bold ethical stand. It was damage control.

“These licences were approved after the invasion began. The UK knew what it was authorising.”
— Middle East Eye, April 2024

“Missing in Action”: A Broken Export Control System

The UK arms export system is meant to be governed by strict rules. In theory, sales must not proceed where there is a “clear risk” that the weapons could be used to violate international law. In practice, these safeguards have been described by experts as deliberately opaque and structurally broken.

A March 2024 report by the World Peace Foundation, titled “Missing in Action”, paints a damning picture of the UK’s export control regime. The report meticulously details how Whitehall bureaucrats and government ministers repeatedly approved arms sales - even when internal advice raised red flags.

“The UK’s controls are not designed to stop arms exports. They are designed to make it look as if they do.”
— World Peace Foundation, 2024

This isn’t oversight. It’s policy.

From 2021 to 2024, Britain licensed over £1.2 billion in arms to Israel, including parts for F-35 fighter jets, radar systems, and components for missiles. Despite rising evidence of civilian casualties in Gaza, the UK continued deliveries, suggesting economic interests took precedence over human lives.

Israel Is Not an Exception - It’s the Rule

The Israel-Gaza war may have grabbed headlines, but Britain’s complicity in global conflict is far from isolated.

In Yemen, UK-supplied weapons have been used by the Saudi-led coalition since 2015. Despite one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world, British arms manufacturers have profited immensely - BAE Systems alone saw £22 billion in contracts with Saudi Arabia from 2015–2022.

In the words of a whistleblower cited in the Forum on the Arms Trade blog, “there is no country the UK won’t arm - so long as the cheque clears.”

“The real story isn’t that we arm Israel. It’s that we arm everyone.”
— Forum on the Arms Trade, 2025

Afghanistan. Libya. Myanmar. Ethiopia. The list is long and growing.

Why It Continues: Profits, Politics and Power

So, why hasn’t the UK stopped?

The answer is depressingly simple: money and influence.

The arms industry is a powerful lobby in British politics. Companies like BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce Defence, and MBDA UK don’t just build bombs - they build policy. They sponsor conferences, fund university departments, and maintain direct access to ministers. In 2023 alone, BAE’s CEO met with government officials over 40 times.

Meanwhile, the opaque nature of Open General Export Licences (OGELs) means much of the trade happens without public scrutiny. The government doesn't have to announce what it's selling or to whom, unless it chooses to.

Parliamentary oversight is weak. The Committee on Arms Export Controls (CAEC) has been consistently underfunded and starved of power. As New Internationalist noted in a 2025 analysis, even when MPs raise red flags, they are often ignored or sidelined.

“The arms trade isn’t just a business—it’s a state function.”
— New Internationalist, 2025

Public Outrage vs Political Paralysis

A 2024 YouGov poll found that 64% of UK citizens opposed arms sales to Israel. Similar numbers opposed arms sales to Saudi Arabia. But public opinion has failed to shape policy.

The reason? Britain is trapped in a post-colonial military-industrial complex that it refuses to dismantle. The same institutions that built the empire now arm its ruins.

Even Labour - traditionally the party of internationalism - has tiptoed around the issue. While backbenchers have spoken out, frontbench policy has remained evasive. The party's links to defence donors, and fears of being branded "anti-Israel" or "soft on defence," have left it complicit by silence.

What Can Be Done? Time for a Reckoning

This is not sustainable.

Legal challenges are mounting. NGOs like CAAT (Campaign Against Arms Trade) are preparing new lawsuits, bolstered by the World Peace Foundation’s findings. The International Criminal Court has begun examining arms suppliers’ roles in conflicts, especially in Gaza.

Meanwhile, campaigners are demanding:

• An immediate halt to arms sales to Israel, Saudi Arabia, and other conflict actors
• Transparent reform
• Stronger parliamentary oversight
• Divestment from arms companies in public pension funds
• An independent war crimes inquiry

If we fail to act now, the consequences won't just be ethical - they’ll be legal.

Conclusion: History Is Watching

This isn’t just about Gaza. Or Yemen. Or any single war.

It’s about whether the UK wants to be a country that sells death for profit. Whether we continue to arm regimes that bomb children, then claim innocence with clean hands. Whether we uphold international law or just pretend to.

As bombs drop and civilians die, Britain counts the profits.

“We are not just watching these wars. We are enabling them.”

The arms trade isn’t just a scandal. It’s a crime scene.

And the British government is no longer just an observer - it is a suspect.