SNP leader Ian Blackford with Nicola Sturgeon and local MPs Martin Docherty-Hughes, Brendan O’Hara on a recent visit to Westminster.
The SNP’s Westminster leader has defended his link to arms manufacturers that sell weapons to Saudi Arabia.
Ian Blackford rejected calls to resign as chairman of Golden Charter Trust, a funeral plan provider that indirectly benefits from arms manufacturers including BAE Systems, Raytheon, Airbus, Northrop Grumman and Harris Corporation, all of which have ties to Saudi defence. He denied that he personally invested in these companies, but his register of interests states that he earns £3,091 a month for 32 hours’ work a year as the trust’s chairman.
The trust’s biggest collective investment is Artisan Global Equity Fund, which makes money from defence investments. The fund’s biggest investment is in Harris Corporation. Raytheon is also in the top five. The Times of London