HC Deb 19 July 1999 vol 335 c393W
Mr. Simon Hughes

To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners, how much of the Church's investment is in the defence and military hardware industries. [90234]

Mr. Stuart Bell

The Commissioners do not invest in companies whose main business is the manufacture of armaments. The Commissioners' main investments in defence-related companies are presently in GEC and GKN. In addition, some of the companies in which the Commissioners hold shares may have small defence-related interests, ranging from electrical and electronic systems to engineering components, but these companies would not be described as military and certainly cannot be classified as armaments.