Defence firms held back by UK ethical banking standards, industry says

Published

8 months ago

March 20, 2025

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British banks should abandon outdated ethical standards and increase lending to domestic defence manufacturers in a “patriotic” effort to ensure the UK can meet its security needs, defence suppliers have told Sky News.

The defence industry has long complained that environment, sustainability and governance (ESG) standards, intended to guide business impact on society, have prevented small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) raising finance.

With the government promising to increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP, and the chancellor keen that SMEs in the sector should contribute increased growth, the industry believes ESG rules could hold British companies back.

Lizzie Jones of Supacat, which manufactures military vehicles used by special forces and infantry, told Sky News: “We have absolutely felt the disinterest from banks to invest in the defence industry, which has been really hard to deal with over the last few years.

“We’re hoping that the tide is beginning to change, and that actually some of the patriotic feelings that we need the defence industry, particularly right now, will help persuade the banks that investing in defence industries is good for UK growth.”

The call for support from the defence industry comes as European military chiefs meet in London to discuss operational aspects of a proposed peacekeeping force in Ukraine.

Donald Trump’s return to the White House, and his demand that European NATO partners scale up defence and lead any security guarantees for Ukraine, has forced a re-examination of defence priorities.

Rachel Reeves has sought to link increased spending to her growth agenda, and defence will form part of the industrial strategy due later this year.

Earlier this month a group of Labour MPs, and members of the defence select committee, called on banks to end “anti-defence” ESG guidelines in light of the US retreat from European security, and the need to increase support for Ukraine.

Improved access to finance is one of several demands from defence suppliers large and small, as the industry prepares for increased demand.

Certainty of contracts, a reduction in Ministry of Defence red tape, and access to cheap energy, skilled workers and critical minerals are all also required if the UK is to enjoy “sovereign capability” – the ability to build and deploy its own equipment, weapons and systems.

The call for a re-examination of ethical standards was echoed by one of the largest defence suppliers, Leonardo UK, the British arm of an Italian-listed multinational that manufactures helicopters and electronic warfare technology.

Chief executive Clive Higgins told Sky News: “The ESG agenda was really impacting small to medium enterprises where no banking was effectively taking place, and individuals couldn’t go get a bank account because they were in the defence sector.

“We’ve seen a real, really proactive response from the government over the last 12 months. I think we’re starting to see a shift in the tragic events going on in Ukraine, which helps people recognise the importance of defence at home, because that ensures we can enjoy the freedoms that you and I take for granted each day.”

The UK Sustainable Finance Association, which represents a number of major investors and pension funds, rejected the argument that the defence industry is “underinvested”.

Chief executive James Alexander said: “The notion that defence firms’ low valuations and struggles for finance is because of ‘ESG’ criteria is nonsense.

“The UK’s ‘ESG’ (or sustainable finance) regulations at no point prohibit defence investments. While some values-based (or ‘ethical’) investors may opt against investing in defence companies, they represent a small proportion of the financial system.

“Many financial institutions, including mainstream, sustainable investors, do invest in defence. Most critical to defence companies’ prospects, though, is government spending, as highlighted by the rise in several defence stocks this year, as the UK and European allies have understandably announced increases in defence spending.”

The Financial Conduct Authority said last month that its ESG reporting rules contain nothing “that prevents investment or finance for defence companies”, implying that divesting from or avoiding defence is a choice for institutions and their customers.

UK

Home secretary admits illegal immigration numbers still ‘too high’ under Labour – but says Farage can ‘sod off’

Published

11 hours ago

November 17, 2025

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Home secretary admits illegal immigration numbers still 'too high' under Labour - but says Farage can 'sod off'

The home secretary has admitted the UK’s illegal immigrant numbers are “too high” – but said Nigel Farage can “sod off” after he claimed she sounded like a Reform supporter.

Shabana Mahmood, speaking just after announcing a major policy change on migration, said she was “horrified” by the 27% increase of irregular arrivals in the year to June.

Politics latest: Labour MPs attack asylum plans

Speaking to Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby, the home secretary said: “I acknowledge the numbers are too high, and they’ve gone up, and I want to bring them down.

“I’m impatient to bring those numbers down.”

She refused to “set arbitrary numbers” on how much she wanted to bring illegal migration down to.

Earlier on Monday, Ms Mahmood announced a new direction in Labour’s plan to crack down on asylum seekers.

The “restoring order and control” plan includes:

• The removal of more families with children – either voluntarily through cash incentives up to £3,000, or by force;
• Quadrupling the time successful asylum seekers must wait to claim permanent residency in the UK, from five years to 20;
• Removing the legal obligation to provide financial support to asylum seekers, so those with the right to work but choose not to will receive no support;
• Setting up a new appeals body to significantly speed up the time it takes to decide whether to refuse an asylum application;
• Reforming how the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) is interpreted in immigration cases;
• Banning visas for countries refusing to accept deportees;
• And the establishment of new safe and legal refugee routes.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said the plan was much like something his party would put forward, and said Ms Mahmood sounded like a Reform supporter.

The home secretary responded with her usual frankness, telling Rigby: “Nigel Farage can sod off. I’m not interested in anything he’s got to say.

“He’s making mischief. So I’m not going to let him live forever in my head.”

She earlier announced refugee status would be temporary, only lasting two and a half years before a review, and they would have to be in the UK for 20 years before getting permanent settled status, instead of the current five years.

Ms Mahmood said Reform wanted to “rip up” indefinite leave to remain altogether, which she called “immoral” and “deeply shameful”.

The home secretary, who is a practising Muslim, was born in Birmingham to her Pakistani parents.

Earlier, in the House of Commons, she said she sees the division that migration and the asylum system are creating across the country. She told MPs she regularly endures racial slurs.

UK

BBC ‘determined to fight’ any Trump legal action, chairman tells staff

Published

19 hours ago

November 17, 2025

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BBC 'determined to fight' any Trump legal action, chairman tells staff

BBC chair Samir Shah has said there is “no basis for a defamation case and we are determined to fight this” – after Donald Trump said he would sue the corporation for between $1bn and $5bn.

It comes after the US president confirmed on Saturday he would be taking legal action against the broadcaster over the editing of his speech on Panorama – despite an apology from the BBC.

In an email to staff, Mr Shah said: “There is a lot being written, said and speculated upon about the possibility of legal action, including potential costs or settlements.

“In all this we are, of course, acutely aware of the privilege of our funding and the need to protect our licence fee payers, the British public.

“I want to be very clear with you – our position has not changed. There is no basis for a defamation case and we are determined to fight this.”

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On Saturday, President Trump told reporters legal action would come in the following days.

“We’ll sue them. We’ll sue them for anywhere between a billion (£792m) and five billion dollars (£3.79bn), probably sometime next week,” he said.

“We have to do it, they’ve even admitted that they cheated. Not that they couldn’t have not done that. They cheated. They changed the words coming out of my mouth.”

The BBC on Thursday said the edit of Mr Trump’s speech on 6 January 2021 had given the “mistaken impression that President Trump had made a direct call for violent action”.

The broadcaster apologised and said the splicing of the speech was an “error of judgment” but refused to pay financial compensation after the US leader’s lawyers threatened to sue for one billion dollars in damages unless a retraction and apology were published.

The Panorama scandal prompted the resignations of two of the BBC’s most senior executives – director-general Tim Davie and news chief Deborah Turness.

The broadcaster has said it will not air the Panorama episode Trump: A Second Chance? again, and published a retraction on the show’s webpage on Thursday.

UK

Joseph James O’Connor ordered to pay back over £4m in Bitcoin after hacking celebrity X accounts

Published

19 hours ago

November 17, 2025

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Joseph James O'Connor ordered to pay back over £4m in Bitcoin after hacking celebrity X accounts

A British man who hacked the X accounts of celebrities in a bid to con people out of Bitcoin, has been ordered to repay £4.1m-worth of the cryptocurrency, prosecutors say.

Joseph James O’Connor, 26, was jailed in the United States for five years in 2023 after he pleaded guilty to charges including computer intrusion, wire fraud and extortion.

He was arrested in Spain in 2021 and extradited after the country’s high court ruled the US was best placed to prosecute because the evidence and victims were there.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said on Monday it had obtained a civil recovery order to seize 42 Bitcoin and other crypto assets linked to the scam, in which O’Connor used hijacked accounts to solicit digital currency and threaten celebrities.

The July 2020 hack compromised accounts of high-profile figures including former US presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden, and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

O’Connor and his co-conspirators stole more than $794,000 (£629,000) of cryptocurrency after using the hacked accounts to ask people to send $1,000 in Bitcoin to receive double back.

Prosecutor Adrian Foster said the civil recovery order showed that “even when someone is not convicted in the UK, we are still able to ensure they do not benefit from their criminality”.

The order, which valued O’Connor’s assets at around £4.1m, was made last week, following a freeze placed on the hacker’s property, which prosecutors secured during extradition proceedings.

A court-appointed trustee will liquidate his assets, the CPS said.

The attack also compromised the X (then Twitter) accounts of other high-profile figures including Tesla chief executive Elon Musk, investor Warren Buffett, and media personality and businesswoman Kim Kardashian.

The hack prompted the social media platform to temporarily freeze some accounts.

X said 130 accounts were targeted, with 45 used to send tweets.