The group highlighted the case of current Leicestershire police and crime commissioner, Baron Willy Bach, who moved from the Ministry of Defence (MoD) procurement department to the directorship of aerospace and cybersecurity firm Leonardo-Finmeccanica shortly after he left the government in 2005.

“The government may talk about the importance of human rights, but its role is absolutely central to the UK arms trade,” CAAT spokesman Andrew Smith told the Guardian.