We, the undersigned, call on Hackney Borough Council to adopt a policy of ethical investment and dispose of holdings in arms companies, starting with  BAe Systems, given its links with corrupt practices.

Currently Hackney Council has over £5 million in BAe Systems, far more than any other London borough.

BAe manufactures and sells components for war planes to Israel, weapons that have been used in the recent attacks on the civilian population of Gaza.

This means that the Council is complicit in the war crimes committed during the Gaza conflict, condemned in the recent UN report.

This responsibility can no longer be overlooked. Hackney Council must divest from BAe and other arms companies, and move to a programme of ethical investment.