Commenting on the revelation that the UK government has been colluding with arms sales to Sri Lanka, Symon Hill, the new associate director of the think-tank Ekklesia, declared:

“UN officials estimate that 20,000 civilians were killed in Sri Lanka in five months. Yet while the UK government was calling for a peaceful solution, they were allowing arms dealers to profit by filling Sri Lanka with even more weapons."

He added: "This illustrates the sheer cynicism that lies at the core of the officially-sanctioned commercial arms sales. It is not just unethical behaviour by MPs and the parliamentary system that needs changing, but the whole way government is routinely enmeshed in a trade that breeds corruption and destruction."

[Note to editors: Symon Hill was previously involved in NGO legal action against the government concerning the Serious Fraud Office's failure to act over corruption allegations involving BAE and Saudi Arabia]