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C OURIER THE
Issue 1231 Monday 16 May 2011 www.thecourieronline.co.uk
THE INDEPENDENT VOICE OF NEWCASTLE STUDENTS
EST 1948
FREE
University investments fund Gaddafi arms deal BAE subsidiary company sells Libya nearly doubles shares in • • Newcastle £158 million worth of weapons in 2007 arms giant BAE to £989, 914 since 2009 Simon Murphy News Editor The University has almost doubled its investment in an arms manufacturer which flogged weapons to Libyan tyrant Colonel Gaddafi in 2007, The Courier has uncovered. A subsidiary company of arms manufacturer BAE Systems – which the University holds a £989,951 stake in – armed the North African dictator with an estimated £158 million worth of anti-tank missiles and communications gear. BAE owns a 37.5 per cent share in MBS Missiles, which brokered the deal four years ago. In recent months the Libyan conflict has claimed the lives of thousands of civilians, with Gaddafi issuing several threats to kill his own people in the rebel-held cities of Benghazi and Mistrata.
£2,006,356
Total amount of research funding supplied by arms firms BAE and Rolls Royce to the University since 2000
The country is in turmoil, with rebel forces fighting to wrestle control from the dictator, who had led with an iron fist for 43 years. The University had agreed to review its ethical investment policy in 2009 after a student-led occupation of the Fine Arts building. A working group was established in June 2010 and is set to report its findings to University Council in July. Since agreeing to the review, the University’s shares in BAE have leaped from £526,000 to £989,951.
The statistics are not disclosed on the University’s end of year accounts, and were only obtained by The Courier after a formal freedom of information request. Third year Politics student Kat McCrave, who led the occupation against arms trade investments two years ago, criticised the University’s actions. “I am appalled by the dramatic growth in their investment in BAE over the last two years especially when there are more stable industries they could choose to invest in,” she said. McCrave presented a number of alternative investment strategies at a meeting with the University’s Executive Board last year, such as increasing the University’s involvement in green technologies. The Students’ Union Council also passed a motion in March 2010 calling on the University to cease its investments in the arms trade. BAE, the world’s largest arms manufacturer, has been embroiled in controversy in recent years. The company, which posted profits of more than £22 billion last year, have been found guilty of corruption charges. In February 2010, BAE were ordered to pay £185 million in compensation after pleading guilty to false accounting and to settle bribery allegations. Abi Haque, who is Universities Coordinator of pressure group Campaign Against the Arms Trade, slammed The Courier’s findings. “Newcastle promised to review its investment policy. Now it has completely disregarded criticism by almost doubling its investments Continued on page 4
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Funding controversy: BAE systems, which helped arm Gaddafi, boasts its weapon collections at Farnborough Air Show last year