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Exclusive: Weapons firms install 50 staff inside the Ministry of Defence

BAE among arms firms paying Ministry of Defence staff’s salaries while winning lucrative contracts

Exclusive: Weapons firms install 50 staff inside the Ministry of Defence
Nine officials at the Ministry of Defence are paid by the UK’s biggest arms firm. | Russell Hart / Alamy Stock Photo
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More than 50 paid employees of global arms companies are working inside the UK’s Ministry of Defence, openDemocracy can reveal, sparking questions about conflicts of interest and national security.

They include nine staffers on long-term secondment from the UK’s biggest weapons manufacturer, BAE Systems, some of whom have been embedded inside the department for years.