Evidence in the Undercover Policing Inquiry recently revealed that BAE Systems, the UK’s largest arms company, offered the Metropolitan police money to spy on anti arms trade campaigners. This followed the 1996 Seeds of Hope Ploughshares action which caused £1.4m worth of damage to Hawk aircraft. Four women were acquitted of criminal damage charges on the basis they were preventing a greater crime by taking action to stop BAE Systems exporting the aircraft to Indonesia for use in war crimes against people in East Timor. The information emerged during the questioning of former detective chief inspector Dell on 1 July 2026.…