Billions of pounds are invested in companies that are producing nuclear weapons by UK pension funds and banks, according to a survey by the UK Nuclear Weapons Financing Research Group.
‘Today many financial institutions express their desire to be a force for good in society but may not realise that their loans and investments finance the development of new nuclear weapons’, says Baroness Sue Miller, Co-President, Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament, in the foreword to the report.
There is patchy awareness among some finance executives of their organisation’s record on nuclear weapons investment, says the report. Most companies score poorly but the report notes that some banks and pension funds have stated that they are actively reviewing this area. Of those financial institutions contacted, the pension providers People’s Pension and NEST (the government’s default workplace pension scheme with 4.5 million members), said that they would seek the views of their members on investments in nuclear weapons producers.
Report
The report can be downloaded from the Nuclear Weapons Financing Research Group website.
Take action
You can also use the website to check out your own bank or pension fund and to email, tweet or write to them.
About the research group
UK Nuclear Weapons Financing Research Group consists of representatives of the Baptist Union of Great Britain, Church of Scotland, Christian CND, Don’t Bank on the Bomb Scotland, Ecumenical Council for Corporate Responsibility (JustMoney Movement from November 2022), Methodist Church, Quakers in Britain, Pax Christi UK, Soka Gakkai International-UK and United Reformed Church.
