Jeremy Corbyn joins thousands in Liverpool to protest against arms fair in the city

Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn joined thousands of protestors in Liverpool on Saturday to call for the cancellation of a controversial electronic warfare conference in the city.

The Association of Old Crows (AOC) Europe annual weapons conference is due to take place at ACC Exhibition Centre Liverpool on 12-13 October but it has met with an increasing level of resistance.

Merseyside MPs have called for the event to be cancelled, including Liverpool West Derby MP Ian Byrne, who submitted an early day motion to parliament saying “the planned arms fair should not take place in our great city”.

Actress Maxine Peake, who starred alongside Eddie Redmayne in the Theory of Everything, also joined Saturday’s protest, alongside former Green Party leader Natalie Bennett and Liverpool-born former Labour shadow chancellor John McDonnell.

Corbyn called on everybody to band together to oppose the arms fair, adding: “Security isn’t the ability to kill others - it’s to be able to eat, have clothes and deal with the environmental disaster we face.”

On Friday, English band Massive Attack cancelled a gig at the ACC venue in “solidarity with campaigners”.

Chair of the Stop The Liverpool Arms Fair campaign, Lawrence Brown, told LiverpoolWorld: “It was a fantastic turnout and we had some brilliant speakers setting out why an arms fair should not be held in Liverpool.

“We’ve already had two demonstrations and we now move forward towards whatever comes our way.”

Director of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), Ben Jamal, said: “The pressure is mounting on the ACC to cancel this event. More than 3,000 people marching has demonstrated the strength of local opinion. With Massive Attack cancelling their event and some unions considering never using the venue again, it is time for this event to be cancelled.”

The National Union of Students (NUS) has previously hosted a number of events at the ACC and warned if the arms fair goes ahead they will not use the exhibition centre in the future.

What is the arms conference?

The AOC Europe holds their arms conference in different European city every year.

The event at the at the ACC Exhibition Centre Liverpool was due to take place in 2020 but was postponed until 12-13 October, 2021, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Representatives from serving military personnel and government decision-makers are expected at the event, which will include electromagnetic warfare experts and the latest technological warfare developments.

City protests

There was a big protest in the city in June this year and a petition against the arms fair has already received over 5,800 signatures.

More than 70 city councillors are believed to have signed a statement in opposition to the event.

Can it be stopped?

Mayor of Liverpool, Joanne Anderson, expressed in a statement her opposition to the conference.

She stated: “I am appalled that this event is being held in Liverpool – in one of our buildings. Many of you have been in touch with me to outline, in no uncertain terms, your views. I am a pacifist and I have been consistently clear that I am in absolute agreement with you.”

Despite being “appalled” about the conference, Mayor Anderson wrote that the council was powerless to stop it going ahead.

She wrote: “The inescapable fact is that it is lawful and we have no public powers to stop it. In the same way, we are powerless to stop other people who are not welcome in our city like the far right, from being in our city, unless they break the law.

“I have sought extensive soundings from our legal team, but based on their expert advice, regrettably there is nothing that I as Mayor, or the council, can do to prevent this event from taking place.

“The bottom line is that the council has no power to interfere with bookings taken by ACC Liverpool, and has no member representatives on its board.”

However, Public Interest Law Centre (PILC), instructed by Mark Jackson, a social justice campaigner, have sent a pre-action protocol letter to the Mayor of Liverpool, in the first step before launching a judicial review challenge.

The basis for the potential challenge is that the city council, which owns the exhibition centre, should have cancelled the event on ethical grounds, and that its failure to do so may be unlawful.

The legal action is being supported by the Merseyside Pensioners Association (MPA), who have previously called for a national demonstration.

Brown, the Chair of the Stop The Liverpool Arms Fair campaign, said Liverpool City Council had until 16.00 on Friday to respond to the PILC letter: “I understand a response has been made, so we will see what happens.

“People are very upset and disgusted by the fact that such an event could happen in Liverpool in a council owned building. Putting pressure on the ACC through cancelling bookings should have been a last resort and it’s unacceptable that we have had to get to this stage. The council should be able to issue a demand to the ACC.”

AOC Europe and ACC reaction

A spokesperson for AOC Europe said: “AOC Europe will connect organisations and individuals from government, defence, industry and academia to promote the exchange of information and review the latest advances in electromagnetic and information-related fields.

“AOC Europe provides an opportunity for attendees to exchange ideas, develop relationships, and showcase a range of high tech electronics – a field in which the UK is an acknowledged world leader.

“UK and international laws determine who can come to the event, and all of our exhibitors and visitors are vetted and undergo the strictest scrutiny before being allowed access to the events. We respect the right to lawful protest and demonstration.”

A spokesperson for Exhibition Centre Liverpool said: “Liverpool is a historically important city within the defence sector, with over £2 billion of Ministry of Defence budget currently spent in the region, supporting 12,500 jobs. As well as Liverpool’s historical links to the defence sector, related growth areas including advance manufacturing, aerospace and maritime remain core sectors for the city region economy today.

“Liverpool hosts a range of public, private and trade events every year, attracting visitors from across the world and boosting the local economy. The ACC Liverpool Group, operators of Exhibition Centre Liverpool, exists to create economic benefit for the city of Liverpool.

“Over the last decade, national and international events across our campus have led to almost £2 billion of economic impact and now more than ever, during this unprecedented time, we represent one of the most important routes to attracting visitors back to the city to help reinvigorate Liverpool’s visitor economy.”

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