A new and better way for British arms export licensing: presumption of denial

Nicholas Gilby, 4 December 2014

The British export licensing system depends on a “risk assessment” officials make at the time an export licence decision is made. It is totally ill-fitted to how the world actually works, chiefly because weapons and weapon systems have a shelf-life far longer than the validity of the official risk assessment.

So what would a new […]

Why Britain should not join American and French airstrikes against ISIS

Nicholas Gilby, 12 September 2014

The American President Barack Obama has announced he intends to “degrade, and ultimately destroy, ISIL”, including “a systematic campaign of airstrikes against these terrorists”. The French have now announced they will join the airstrikes too.

So far the British Government has not said whether or not it will join in. But David Cameron is bound […]