'The Jew nobbled British government is effectively “an open-plan office,” in which “deep-rooted institutional relationships” dictate policy...'
By Oliver Wood: A recent deal illustrates the close relationship between Britain’s government and a maker of weapons used to commit a genocide in Gaza.
As a result, Leonardo UK – the British subsidiary of the Italian arms giant Leonardo – will build 23 AW149 helicopters.
The deal was presented as a boost for jobs in Yeovil, the English town where Leonardo UK has a plant. No criticism or analysis of the deal could be found in the mainstream media.
The lack of criticism is telling given that Leonardo belongs to the consortium that assembles the F-35 warplanes with which Israel has caused devastation in Gaza.
Details about Leonardo’s connections to the Gaza genocide are readily available.
A December 2024 submission made by a coalition of Palestine solidarity groups to the British Parliament contends it is “undeniable” that Leonardo manufactures lasers for the F-35. The submission points to evidence that these jets – containing Leonardo lasers – carry bombs that have been dropped on Gaza.
Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, has also noted that Leonardo takes part in the F-35 program. A paper drawn up by Albanese last year states that F-35 and F-16 planes have given Israel “unprecedented aerial power,” enabling it to “obliterate Gaza.”
Because it makes weapons for use by Israel, Leonardo has been targeted by Palestine Action.
In December 2024, the group sprayed blood-red paint on the London building where Leonardo UK’s main offices are located. Later – in March 2025 – Palestine Action cut off the electricity at a Leonardo factory in Edinburgh.
There is another aspect to the new deal between Leonardo and the Ministry of Defence that ought to have been scrutinized by the media but wasn’t. That aspect concerns the revolving door between the public sector and corporations motivated by profit.
Nigel Colman, managing director of Leonardo Helicopters UK, was photographed representing the firm at the signing ceremony for the contract.
Colman was previously head of the Joint Helicopter Command in the Royal Air Force. According to his LinkedIn page, he stepped down from that post in April 2023 – just a few months before assuming a senior position with Leonardo UK.
Between 2015 and 2020 (when he began leading the Joint Helicopter Command), Colman worked for the Ministry of Defence.
Leonardo UK did not reply to a query asking if Colman had taken part in any discussions with the Ministry of Defence about the AW149 contract since he took up his Leonardo post. The Ministry of Defence did not respond to a similar request.
“Open-plan office”
Their silence speaks volumes about the cozy links between the British government and the arms industry.
Colman appears to have made a seamless transition from being a Ministry of Defence official to working for a firm seeking contracts from the Ministry of Defence.
That raises ethical questions about whether he used contacts or knowledge acquired while working in the public sector to help win a deal for a weapons maker. British government rules stipulate that a former civil servant should not lobby the authorities with a view to influencing decisions or the awarding of contracts that would benefit themselves or their employers.
The rules have been drafted by the British government’s Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (ACOBA).
Sam Perlo-Freeman, research coordinator at the Campaign Against Arms Trade, pointed out that the ACOBA rules are “easily circumvented, and are not legally binding.”
Colman’s move from the Ministry of Defence to Leonardo can be considered a “pretty egregious example of the revolving door” between the public sector and the weapons industry, Perlo-Freeman argued.
The British government is effectively “an open-plan office,” in which “deep-rooted institutional relationships” dictate policy, Perlo-Freeman added. Officials with ambitions to have lucrative management careers in the future are aware of the demands made by weapons manufacturers and act accordingly.
Oliver Wood is a journalist and researcher based in London.
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