Plaid Cymru faces questions over arms fair ‘hypocrisy’

Martin Shipton

Plaid Cymru has been accused of saying one thing in opposition and another in government after a trail of past statements emerged showing senior party figures criticising Labour politicians for attending arms fairs.

Among them are current Welsh Government ministers and MPs who once condemned the very events Plaid Cymru is now accused of supporting or participating in.

In 2019, Mark Hooper, now Welsh Government Deputy Transport Minister, declared on Twitter/X: “Attending an arms fair is indefensible.”

Two years earlier, Mabon ap Gwynfor, now Health Minister, retweeted a Stop the Arms Fair campaign post calling on people to lobby their elected representatives to oppose an arms fair.

Heledd Fychan, now Minister for Culture and Sport, also previously criticised the former Labour Welsh Government over its participation in the DSEI London arms fair, describing it as a “contemptible event”.

Delyth Jewell, Deputy Minister for Social Care, Mental Health and Women’s Health, speaking in the Senedd in 2021 about the Labour Welsh Government’s presence at the London DSEI arms fair, said: “People in Wales who object to tax money being spent on promoting weapons that kill civilians have a right to an explanation from the government about why it decided to continue to sponsor the arms trade.”

The questions come as anti-war campaigners step up pressure on the Plaid Cymru Welsh Government to promise it will not attend arms fairs.

Protests are planned against next month’s Defence Resilience Security Cymru summit in Newport, which opponents have branded an arms fair.

The row follows a series of controversies over Plaid Cymru and arms fairs reported by Nation.Cymru over the past week.

The Defence Resilience Security Cymru summit is co-hosted by the Welsh Government and General Dynamics Land Systems, part of US arms giant General Dynamics. General Dynamics supplies weapons to Israel and Saudi Arabia. BAE Systems, which also supplies both countries, is listed as a prominent exhibitor.

Then came the revelation that the Welsh Government had been listed as an exhibitor at DSEI Japan 2027, a major international arms fair. The Welsh Government told Nation.Cymru: “There will be no direct Welsh Government representation at DSEI Japan.” But that begs an obvious question, if there is to be no direct representation, will there be indirect representation?

Welsh Government Minister and former Plaid Cymru leader, Adam Price has also been revealed to have attended the Farnborough International Airshow, described by Campaign Against Arms Trade as one of Britain’s biggest arms fairs, where Israel’s three largest arms companies were exhibiting.

But the paper trail goes back further.

Ken Skates

In 2018, former Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood attacked Labour’s then Economy Minister Ken Skates after he agreed to be keynote speaker at Defence Procurement, Research, Technology and Export arms fair, the UK’s annual defence procurement and supply chain event.

The event, officially supported by the Ministry of Defence, was branded the Cardiff Arms Fair by campaigners when it was held in Wales.

Wood said at the time: “This is an event where weapons and warfare equipment ranging from tear gas and missiles to fighter planes and warships will be promoted and traded between governments known for their human rights abuses and violations of international humanitarian law, such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt.”

After Skates pulled out of the event, Plaid Cymru claimed its pressure had helped force the Labour politician’s withdrawal.

Wood then took the issue into the Senedd, asking Labour’s Julie James: “Can you explain how your colleague’s explicit endorsement of this bazaar of brutality is compatible with compliance with human rights obligations?”

That same year, Plaid Cymru’s current Westminster leader Liz Saville Roberts tabled an Early Day Motion in Parliament condemning Labour-run Cardiff council over the Cardiff Arms Fair. The motion was signed by Plaid MPs Jonathan Edwards, Hywel Williams and Ben Lake.

It condemned the council for allowing the event to go ahead and criticised the arms fair for bringing together the Ministry of Defence and Department for International Trade with weapons dealers and suppliers.

It also condemned the UK arms trade for supplying weapons used in conflicts causing “significant civilian suffering from Gaza to Yemen”, and regretted that Cardiff had become the venue of choice for what it described as an exhibition of the UK arms trade.

For campaigners, that history makes the current controversy particularly difficult to understand. The same party that once attacked Labour politicians for attending arms fairs and described one event as a “bazaar of brutality” is now facing questions over its own involvement in the global arms trade.

‘Trust’

Adam Johannes of Cardiff Stop the War Coalition said: “The charge of hypocrisy is not a trivial one here. In politics, trust is difficult to build and very easy to lose. If Plaid has so radically changed its position, the least it owes its supporters is a full explanation about why.

“Plaid Cymru once denounced arms fairs. Now its leading figures promote the same events they once condemned. That is a painful thing to watch from a party that promised something different.

“Labour’s leadership has generally been much more candid about its support for the global arms trade. Plaid’s appeal to many was that it seemed to offer another path, that it might not simply accept the logic of militarisation because powerful institutions and businesses wanted it to.”

He added that Wales needs skilled manufacturing jobs, research, technology and investment, but argued there was no reason those capabilities had to be directed towards the arms industry.

“The same industrial capacity could produce renewable energy systems, green public transport, medical equipment, zero-carbon, fully insulated council housing and other things that improve people’s lives,” he said. “Now Plaid Cymru is in government it can continue down the road to a bigger Welsh arms industry locking us into future wars. Or it can remember that politics is not simply about finding a seat at the table. Sometimes it is about deciding which tables are worth sitting at.

“For campaigners, the question is now a simple one. If attending an arms fair was once ‘indefensible’, what makes it defensible now? For a party that built much of its appeal on being different from Labour, that is a question Plaid cannot simply duck.”

There have already been signs of discontent among Plaid backbenchers.

‘Human rights’

Sarah Rees MS has criticised the upcoming event on Instagram, stating: “Reports that the Defence Security Resilience Cymru summit is coming to Newport next month have rightly prompted questions about Wales’s role in the defence industry.

“I want to be clear: I oppose the expansion of the arms industry in Wales. My position is rooted in a commitment to human rights, international law and ethical decision-making.

“In a more dangerous and uncertain world, Wales cannot shy away from questions of defence and security, but we must engage with them in a way that reflects our values.

“I will always challenge the Welsh Government to ensure its decisions meet the highest standards of international law and uphold a clear commitment to anti-genocide action.”

Her post was “liked” by Marc Jones, Kiera Marshall, Leticia Gonzalez and Beca Brown from the Plaid Senedd group/

Plaid’s youth wing, Plaid Ifanc, and Gwynedd councillor Elin Hywel, a candidate for the role of Plaid Cymru national Chair, also “liked” the post.

We sought a response from Plaid Cymru, but the party forwarded our request to the Welsh Government.

‘Well paid jobs’

A spokesperson for the Welsh Government said: “We will continue to engage with the aerospace, defence, security, and national resilience sectors to support the thousands of high-tech, well-paid jobs in Wales, while promoting respect for human rights and international law. An ethical defence framework is being developed, informed by discussions with Scottish Government and Northern Ireland Executive counterparts, and will guide future engagement with the sector.

“The Defence Resilience Security Conference Newport will bring together businesses, academia and other organisations to discuss opportunities for collaboration, innovation, skills development, and growth within several sectors including critical infrastructure, security and supply chain resilience. No Ministers are attending this event.

“Farnborough Air Show is an important trade event for civil aerospace, which is an important employer in Wales. The Minister met with several aerospace companies, including Airbus, as well as ADS, who are a key trade association for aerospace.”

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