Westminster group took cash from Israeli state-owned arms firm

A group of MPs have been accused of a “crystal clear breach of the rules” after taking money from a weapons firm owned by the Israeli government.

RUK Advanced Systems Ltd – which makes missiles for urban warfare – is part of Israel’s state-owned defence giant, Rafael.

Records showed that the company paid at least £1,499 to partner with the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Defence Technology, which provides “opportunities to network with MPs”. The money was paid directly to the group’s secretariat.

But parliamentary rules say that APPGs should not “accept the services of a secretariat funded directly or indirectly by a foreign government”.

RUK describes itself as a “UK company”. But official records show it was controlled by the Israeli government’s Ministry of Finance, which is led by far-right politician Bezalel Smotrich who is sanctioned by Britain for inciting “extremist violence” against Palestinians.

The company’s director has also confirmed it is “owned by Rafael in Israel”.

Tommy Sheppard, a former SNP politician who sat on the Standards Committee said: “This seems a crystal clear breach of the rules.”

He told Declassified: “The APPG should immediately cease taking funds from a company controlled by a foreign government and repay any monies it has received in the past two years. If it does not the group should be suspended and actions considered against office bearers.”

When questioned by Declassified, neither the APPG nor any of the MPs involved responded. But RUK’s name was immediately removed from the group’s website.

Engagement

The Defence Technology APPG runs a programme of events in parliament to promote “engagement” between MPs and the arms industry.

It is co-chaired by Tory MP Dr Neil Shastri-Hurst, and Labour’s Fred Thomas, who both joined parliament last year.

Despite their relative inexperience, the group has gained 31 corporate partners to fund its “independent” secretariat.

They include American defence firm Lockheed Martin, which is the primary producer of F-35 fighter jets used by Israel.

Between them, the partners have pumped more than £60,000 into the APPG to cover a 12 month period.

In return, they are promised “opportunities to network with MPs”, and are told the group will help them “gain visibility”.

APPGs are cross-party groups of MPs and peers that examine specific topics or geographical regions.

For years, concerns have been raised that they operate as a “back door” for lobbyists, as many rely on funding from private companies.

An investigation in 2022 found that more than half of donations given to APPGs had come from the private sector, while many groups had lobbied for causes that benefited their donors.

New rules were introduced the following year, to restrict the influence foreign governments could have on the groups. But Declassified understands that no group has yet to be investigated or reprimanded for any breach.

Rose Whiffen, senior research officer at Transparency International UK said: “New rules banning foreign government funding of parliamentary groups exist to protect their political independence. If an arms company owned by a foreign ministry is funding an APPG on defence technology, this appears to directly contravene those protections.

“Before accepting any external funding, the group must conduct proper due diligence and MPs should ask themselves why outside actors would pay to influence their parliamentary work.

She added: “Parliamentary integrity requires transparency and independence from foreign influence – not corporate partnerships that offer funders access to MPs in exchange for money.”

‘Good people’

RUK Advanced Systems Ltd was set up in 2022 and describes itself publicly as “a UK-based SME”.

It manufactures a range of weapons, including urban combat missiles and “hard kill” torpedoes.

Its website claims: “We’re good people, committed to creating positive change.”

Its director, Ken Turley, has said the company uses “partnering strategies to help improve agility in the defence supply chain”.

Turley has attended at least two APPG meetings in parliament already this year, as well giving evidence to the defence select committee.

The company said it “combines Rafael’s battle-proven technology with independent UK operations and complete local control”.

It added: “Our security cleared UK team enhances and adapts these technologies specifically for UK requirements, ensuring data and operations remain securely within [the] UK border.”

RUK did not respond to a request for comment, but appeared to take down its own website less than 12 hours after being contacted by Declassified.

Documents filed with Companies House the same day show the corporate structure through which RUK is controlled was also changed – although it remains under the control of the Israeli government.

The same change was made to the corporate structure of Pearson Engineering, another arms company which was acquired by Israel’s state-owned arms giant Rafael in 2022.

Meanwhile, the APPG’s secretariat – run by former Conservative parliamentary candidate James Clark – initially confirmed in an email that the group’s partners paid directly towards the secretariat.

Clark said: “Partners contribute money which funds the running of the secretariat. Partners do not currently pay directly for any costs.”

However, Clark stopped responding to Declassified when asked if the group was in breach of the rules.