CAMPAIGNERS have attacked plans to hold an arms fair in Glasgow, branding the event a “Trident showcase”.
The Undersea Defence Technology 2018 event, scheduled to take place at the end of next month at the Scottish Event Campus, will see dozens of firms from around the world gather to promote defence and security equipment.
BAE Systems and Babcock International, which are designing and constructing a new fleet of Trident nuclear submarines, are lead sponsors of the fair.
The city council said the event was held in Glasgow in 2008 and has stressed conferences and exhibitions are worth £130 million to the local economy each year.
But the Scottish CND and the hardline pro-independence group Scottish Resistance have confirmed they plan to hold a demonstration during the three-day gathering, which opens on June 26.
Campaigners said they hoped to draw support from across the country.
Thousands march in protest against Trident nuclear system
An Edinburgh Campaign Against Arms Trade spokesman said: “We hope groups across Scotland will come together to oppose this Trident showcase.”
There is also concern the city council’s arms-length leisure services charity, Glasgow Life, is supporting the event.
In a letter to deputy council leader David McDonald, who is also Glasgow Life chairman, Scottish CND secretary Jean Anderson said: “We want to express our concern that Glasgow Life is welcoming to Glasgow a conference which will attract a great deal of disapproval and cause anxiety in the Glasgow populace.
Black-out: MoD suddenly censors all Trident safety reports
“We understand the event will bring money into the city but we do not find that justified when it means supporting something morally wrong and against the wishes of the people of the city.”
Sean Clerkin of Scottish Resistance said: "They are valuing money over people's lives. It should not have been supported."
UDT, now in its 31st year, has been sold in promotional material as a forum to allow businesses to "engage with the undersea defence community, network and meet prospective customers, showcase your products and services and reinforce your commitment to this ever-evolving domain".
The promoters say it provides arms companies with the chance to "meet face-to-face" with over 1,400 international, senior military and industry leaders".
It is organised by Clarion Events, which has hosted family-friendly gatherings such as the Baby Show, the Horse Show and the Spirit of Christmas. Since 2008, it has acquired six arms fairs and joined the arms industry trade body ADS.
In September last year, more than 100 people were arrested at protests outside a controversial Defence and Security Equipment International arms fair which Clarion organised.
Glasgow City Council spokesman said of the SEC event: “Glasgow’s highly successful convention bureau works with venues and event organisers to bring conferences and exhibitions to the city – generating around £130 million for the local economy each year and supporting thousands of jobs, most notably in the hospitality, retail and transport sectors.
“This particular event was held in Glasgow in 2008 and has visited a number of major European cities since, including London, Liverpool, Hamburg and Oslo.”
Glasgow Life declined to comment.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel