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Activists petition against appointment of BAE boss to BBC Trust

Activists petition against BAE boss

Activists have intensified their campaign against the appointment of the chairman of BAE Systems, Europe’s biggest arms company, as new vice-chairman of the British Broadcasting Corporation.

A petition, signed by 6,350 activists from the Campaign Against the Arms Trade (CAAT), has been delivered to the BBC, calling for the removal of Roger Carr.

Activists are agitated over Carr’s continued chairmanship of the multinational defence, security and aerospace company. “Dictator-arming” BAE boss must resign from BBC Trust, they said.

“We think that Roger Carr who is the chairman of the Europe’s biggest arms company is a totally inappropriate appointment for the BBC. The company sold weapons to some of the most brutal tyrants and dictators around the world. This is a broadcasting channel which is paid for with your money, my money and the money of all taxpayers”, CAAT spokesman, Andrew Smith told Press TV.

CAAT launched the campaign after the UK government last month confirmed Carr’s appointment to the BBC Trust for the period from May 1, 2015 to April 30, 2019.

Appointments to the trust are made on the recommendation of UK government ministers. Activists say BAE is a global arms powerhouse and Carr’s appointment shows a deep nexus between the government and the company.

“The BAE systems get hundreds of millions of pounds from the government every single year. Robin Cook who was once foreign secretary under Tony Blair’s government said the premier wouldn’t make the foreign policy’s decision without telling BAE. The point is that when BAE speaks, government ministers do listen”, Smith said.

BAE Systems has sold weapons to despotic regimes and human rights abusers in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Israel. The firm’s reputation has been further damaged by bribery allegations that sparked multiple anti-fraud investigations in Britain and America.

“The BAE is a company which has been characterized by corruption and scandal. These dictatorships need to be held accountable and need to be scrutinized to see which companies are behind arming them”, Smith concluded.

JAS/SKL


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