SOME arms firms have been excluded from Devon County Council’s pension fund and more could be avoided in future too.

Activists want the council to sell investments in arms manufacturers that they say are “contributing” to the war between Israel and Hamas, with formal motions also being submitted by a councillor earlier this year.

The issue was raised at the latest full council meeting by a member of the public. David Chappell, a resident, thanked the meeting for engaging with the issue, adding that he hoped further companies could be excluded.

The council sold £2 million worth of investments in such firms earlier this year, and a recent change to its investment funds means two firms have been formally excluded.

Cllr James Morrish (Conservative, Holsworthy Rural) said shares in US-based firms Lockheed Martin and RTX are not in Legal and General’s Global Developed Paris Aligned Benchmark Fund, which the council’s pension fund invests in.

Those two US companies were among a list of 11 global firms that the United Nation in June urged to stop selling arms to Israel.

In response to a motion, Cllr Morrish said the council had decided to “recommend that officers and members engage in conversations” on ensuring the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights are “fully reflected in investment policies.

“This will involve discussing with Brunel [which oversees the pension fund] the potential to widen the exclusion policy.”

The Brunel Pension Partnership is one of eight local government pension scheme pools, which means that a group of pensions are run on a collective basis by a single operator.

Brunel oversees pension funds for nine local authorities, including Devon and Cornwall, and the Environment Agency.

Bradley Gerrard