A series of billionaires with ties to Britain remain untouched by the UK’s supposedly tough sanctions regime.

More than 50 UK civil society organisations – including AOAV – have written to the Prime Minister urging the Government to rebalance its approach to security by investing in diplomacy, development and climate action alongside defence, warning that an increasing focus on militarisation risks making the world less, not more, secure.

A decade of Ministry of Defence transparency data reveals growing ties between senior officials and the defence industry, rising overseas spending and persistent gaps in disclosure that continue to obscure how public money, influence and national security decisions intersect.

The MoD’s 2022 leak of data on about 18,700 Afghans who assisted UK forces exposed grave failures in data security, secrecy, and accountability, causing severe human harm, political fallout, financial irregularities, and lasting damage to Britain’s credibility. This report details just how this came about.

The Court of Appeal’s refusal to hear Al-Haq’s challenge upholding the UK’s continued supply of F-35 components to Israel has been condemned by critics, with AOAV’s Iain Overton calling it “an appalling judgment” that shields government arms export decisions from legal scrutiny despite their humanitarian consequences.

The Ministry of Defence has refused to reveal how many RAF surveillance flights have taken place over Gaza since October 2023, citing national security concerns.

A secret High Court hearing revealed that a Ministry of Defence data breach in 2022 exposed the personal details of about 100,000 Afghans, far exceeding the figure given to Parliament and prompting an unprecedented two-year contra mundum super-injunction.

A catastrophic UK military data breach exposed thousands of Afghans to Taliban reprisal and led to a multibillion-pound cover-up hidden behind a government superinjunction.

The British government withheld spy flight details – exposed by AOAV – from a key court case on arms exports to Israel, raising serious questions of transparency and complicity.

The new UK-EU Security and Defence Partnership includes a long-sought commitment to bilateral dialogue on arms exports control—offering a modest but meaningful win for civil society advocates pushing for renewed oversight and accountability post-Brexit.

Greenpeace UK activists were arrested for protesting the US and UK’s continued arms sales to Israel, highlighting their role in the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and calling for an immediate halt to weapons transfers.

As Britain’s defence spending grows, QinetiQ’s state-backed profits appear to be funding the hard-right political ambitions of its largest shareholder, raising urgent ethical and regulatory questions.