Three people were arrested on Tuesday as hundreds of demonstrators protested outside the UK's largest arms fair on its opening day.
Protest organisers claimed more than 500 activists had “blockaded and shut down the main gate” of Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI) 2025 at Excel London.
They were demonstrating, in particular, against more than 50 Israel weapons companies exhibiting at the event, including major manufacturers Elbit Systems, Rafael and Israel Aerospace Industries. Protesters described DSEI as the “central marketplace from which Gaza is being obliterated”.
The UK government had blocked Israeli government representatives from attending.
Protesters waving Palestinian flags and holding banners reading “Stop arming Israel”, “War criminals this way” and “Stop the arms fair, stop fuelling wars and genocides” jostled with police.
The demonstrators also intended to create a “wall of noise” as exhibitors entered and left the site.
Writing on X, the Shut DSEI Down group wrote: “It is a moral duty to prevent this arms fair from going ahead and getting away with mass murder.”
The group said it was preventing arms dealers from doing “business as usual” while sending a clear message of solidarity to Palestine.
A Met Police spokesperson said there had been three arrests for assault on police officers near the ExCel Centre.
“One of those arrested was also arrested on suspicion of obstructing a police officer in the execution of their duty,” they added.
More than 1,600 defence and security suppliers representing 90 countries are exhibiting at the four-day event, with thousands of delegates attending on Tuesday.
DSEI's website describes the event, which is held every two years, as the “flagship defence event for the UK”.
The British government said defence exports are worth more than £14.5 billion annually and growing, making Britain the world's second-largest arms exporter after the United States.
“Exports from the UK’s defence and security sectors have doubled in the last decade,” said Kevin Craven, chief executive of trade body ADS Group, which represents 1,600 businesses in aerospace, defence, security and space.
The United States has the largest international presence at DSEI, with more than 200 companies including Lockheed Martin. The manufacturer produces the F-35 fighter jet used by the Israeli military to attack Gaza.
European manufacturer Airbus said it was “showcasing the future of integrated military operations” at the trade show.
The Campaign Against the Arms Trade (Caat) and the Palestine Solidarity Campaign groups were leading the protests and expected 1,000 demonstrators to take part.
Caat’s media co-ordinator, Emily Apple, accused the UK government of “peak complicity in genocide” by allowing Israeli companies to attend the fair who “should be investigated for crimes against humanity, not invited to profit from the unspeakable devastation they have caused in Gaza”.
