Kent's Pension Policy: Bombs

Figures obtained under the Freedom of information Act by the Campaign Against the Arms trade (CAAT) showed Kent's local authority pension funds invested almost £9 million in arms manufacturers in 2005.

The report shows that Kent (including Medway Towns) have invested £8,977,000 in arms manufacturers, including BAE Systems, Boeing, Cobham, General Dynamics, Halliburton, Honeywell, Lockheed Martin and Northtrup Grumman.

A number of these companies are reported to be manufacturing cluster bombs or their components - cluster bombs are responsible for significant civilian and indiscriminate casualties in contravention of international law.

The Liberal Democrats have been campaigning for years against the use and manufacture of cluster bombs. Chris Huhne - MP for Eastleigh and previously Euro-MP for the South East - has campaigned against cluster bombs because:

• Cluster bombs blanket a wide area and are hard to target precisely
• They can kill civilians - including many children - long after conflict is over
• They have a relatively high failure rate, leaving many unexploded bomblets
• They pose a long-lasting threat to peace-keepers and bomb clearers
• They cause horrific and devastating injuries
• They render precious agricultural land hazardous or unusable.

Shepway Lib Dem Council Group Leader Lynne Beaumont said:

"Its incredible and sickening to find that Kent is investing pension money in arms manufacturers.

"There are a wide range of ethical alternatives out there, and a number of local authority pension funds (such as Croydon or Hampshire) have now started to have some or all of their pension funds managed 'ethically' - often choosing to avoid investing in arms companies.

"Kent should be looking at its pensions policy to ensure it is investing ethically in future."