London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Sep 12, 2025

Hong Kong withdraws delegation from DSEI arms fair in London

Hong Kong withdraws delegation from DSEI arms fair in London

Teargas canisters made in the UK have previously been used on protesters in the territory

Hong Kong is no longer sending a delegation to next week’s DSEI arms fair in London, a month after it emerged that the UK government had invited representatives from the territory to visit.

The decision to pull out was confirmed in a parliamentary answer by Graham Stuart, a junior international trade minister, in response to a question from a Labour MP following a report in the Guardian last month.

Vicky Foxcroft had asked the international trade secretary, Liz Truss, why Hong Kong had been invited to the arms show, prompting Stuart to say it had “recently confirmed it is not attending”.

Hong Kong is mired in its worst political crisis since the British handover of the territory to China in 1997. Police have fired at least 2,000 rounds of teargas during the protests that broke out in June over a now-abandoned extradition law.

DSEI, which starts on Tuesday, is the biggest arms fair in Europe, featuring 1,600 exhibitors and more than 40 country pavilions. Companies showcase security and crowd control equipment as well as land, sea and air technology.

Canisters recovered by protesters show that some of the CS gas used in Hong Kong had been manufactured by a British company, Chemring, at a factory in Derby. That prompted Jeremy Hunt, the former foreign secretary, to announce an export ban on crowd-control equipment. Britain had licensed £9.4m of arms sales and security equipment to Hong Kong since 2014.

Eight other countries identified by the Foreign Office as priorities in its latest annual review of human rights and democracy are still listed as attending.

They include Saudi Arabia, where British ministers’ failure to consider the impact of civilian casualties in Yemen from bombing by the Saudi air force has led the court of appeal to declare that UK exports had been conducted unlawfully until a proper assessment is carried out.

Another is Bahrain. Two staff from the Gulf state’s embassy in London were accused this week of assaulting an activist who climbed on to the roof of the five-storey building in Belgravia in protest at the pending execution of two men. The embassy has denied the claim.

The other six priority countries the Department of International Trade has invited to the DSEI are Bangladesh, Colombia, Egypt, Israel, Pakistan and Uzbekistan.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
ChatGPT CEO signals policy to alert authorities over suicidal youth after teen’s death
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
Surpassing Musk: Larry Ellison becomes the richest man in the world
Embarrassment for Starmer: He fired the ambassador photographed on Epstein’s 'pedophile island'
Manhunt after 'skilled sniper' shot Charlie Kirk. Footage: Suspect running on rooftop during panic
Effective Protest Results: Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns as Youth-Led Unrest Shakes the Nation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
King Charles and Prince Harry Share First In-Person Moment in 19 Months
Starmer Establishes Economic ‘Budget Board’ to Centralise Policy and Rebuild Business Trust
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones in Airspace Violation During Ukraine Attack
Brazilian police say ex-President Bolsonaro had planned to flee to Argentina seeking asylum
Trinidad Leader Applauds U.S. Naval Strike and Advocates Forceful Action Against Traffickers
Kim Jong Un Oversees Final Test of New High-Thrust Solid-Fuel Rocket Engine
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Macron Appoints Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister Amid Budget Crisis and Political Turmoil
Supreme Court temporarily allows Trump to pause billions in foreign aid
Charlie Sheen says his father, Martin Sheen, turned him in to the police: 'The greatest betrayal possible'
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
Apple Unveils iPhone 17 Series, iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and More at 'Awe Dropping' Event
Pig Heads Left Outside Multiple Paris Mosques in Outrage-Inducing Acts
Nvidia’s ‘Wow’ Factor Is Fading. The AI chip giant used to beat Wall Street expectations for earnings by a substantial margin. That trajectory is coming down to earth.
France joins Eurozone’s ‘periphery’ as turmoil deepens, say investors
On the Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s Death: Prince Harry Returns to Britain
France Faces New Political Crisis, again, as Prime Minister Bayrou Pushed Out
Murdoch Family Finalises $3.3 Billion Succession Pact, Ensuring Eldest Son’s Leadership
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Court Staff Cover Up Banksy Image of Judge Beating a Protester
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
Elon Musk Poised to Become First Trillionaire Under Ambitious Tesla Pay Plan
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
Burning the Minister’s House Helped Protesters to Win Justice: Prabowo Fires Finance Minister in Wake of Indonesia Protests
Brazil Braces for Fallout from Bolsonaro Trial by corrupted judge
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
Nearly 40 Years Later: Nike Changes the Legendary Slogan Just Do It
Generations Born After 1939 Unlikely to Reach Age One Hundred, New Study Finds
End to a four-year manhunt in New Zealand: the father who abducted his children to the forests was killed, the three siblings were found
Germany Suspends Debt Rules, Funnels €500 Billion Toward Military and Proxy War Strategy
EU Prepares for War
BMW Eyes Growth in China with New All‑Electric Neue Klasse Lineup
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
US Justice Department Launches Criminal Mortgage-Fraud Probe into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Escalating Drug Trafficking and Violence in Latin America: A Growing Crisis
US and Taiwanese Defence Officials Held Secret Talks in Alaska
Report: Secret SEAL Team 6 Mission in North Korea Ordered by Trump in 2019 Ended in Failure
×