The defence industry is treated in the same way as the pornography, tobacco and gambling industries when it comes to securing investments and loans, according to the head of the army.
General Sir Roly Walker, chief of the general staff, warned that companies related to weapons, military contracting and nuclear power were finding themselves excluded from sustainable funds.
He said the defence industry needed to be viewed as an “ethical and profitable” area to invest in by venture capitalists, pension funds and banks for the sake of national security.
“We all have a responsibility to ensure defence is seen as both a noble endeavour to work for, and is ethical and profitable to invest in. Our way of life is, literally, sustained by such an
