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Brown Announces Closure of DESO

Disarmingman | 25.07.2007 20:10 | DSEi 2007 | Anti-militarism

Gordon Brown announced today that the government arms promotion unit, DESO, is to close by the end of the year. BAE Systems and Defence Manufacturers Association pretty pissed off!

Gordon Brown announced in a written statement today that DESO is to close. This follows the leaking of a Treasury document two weeks ago. Although Brown said that the work of DESO will be amalgamated into the civil export promotion department, the significance of the move is revealed by the shocked reaction from BAE Systems and the Defence Manufacturer's Association (see  http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?F=2923600&C=europe)

Lets keep on keeping on - see you at DSEI

Chris

Disarmingman

Additions

SBAC not DMA

25.07.2007 20:54

Sorry that should be Society of British Aerospace Companies (SBAC) not Defence Manufacturer's Assocation (DMA) - although I'm sure DMA are none to happy either!!!!

disarmingman

Comments

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is this brown

25.07.2007 21:05

a man to be reckoned with.or a man to reckon with?

Kalog

arms credits where credits due

26.07.2007 10:57

I feel this announcement has more to do with the US Justice dept investigating BAe than to do with the Brown succession. 150 of the 450 DESO staff worked fulltime on the al-Yamamah deal - this preempts the head of Deso being questioned by the SFO again. It appears that the arms manufacturers have started to realise this is the end of their boom caused by the war, and they are starting to fight among themselves for contracts.
I think if it was a moral decision then they would have announced the end of the arms bazaars that Deso fund and organise.

dna
- Homepage: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/orl-protest1307jul13,0,6092559.story