The Narratives – Mohamed Miah

Mohamed Miah | The Narratives

When most people think of their pension, they imagine a safe pot of money building quietly in the background – a promise of security after a lifetime of work. But hidden inside the Hampshire Pension Fund’s latest disclosures is something darker, millions of pounds flowing into arms manufacturers, Israeli banks, and defence-linked technology companies. Because Southampton City Council staff (like thousands of others) are locked into this fund, local pensions are complicit in financing war and occupation.

What the Freedom of Information Requests Revealed

In July 2025, I submitted Freedom of Information requests to both Hampshire County Council and Southampton City Council. Southampton confirmed it does not directly manage pensions – these are administered by Hampshire. Hampshire then disclosed its Pension Fund holdings. The data confirmed that, as of March 2025, more than £137 million was tied up in some of the world’s largest arms and technology firms. The list included BAE Systems, Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, Amazon and Alphabet, each of them implicated in conflicts across the globe.

This was not a marginal exposure. These holdings are deliberate positions in corporations that profit from weapons systems used in war zones, including Israel’s assault on Gaza.

The Companies That Supply the Weapons

The scale of the investments is troubling enough, but it is the nature of the companies involved that exposes the deeper complicity. BAE Systems manufactures fighter jets, missiles and naval equipment, with its Eurofighter Typhoon used by the Israeli Air Force. Raytheon, now trading as RTX, produces the Patriot missile defence system and Paveway precision-guided bombs, both deployed in Israel’s operations. Lockheed Martin is the builder of the F-35 stealth fighter, a centrepiece of Israel’s aerial campaigns. Even Caterpillar, absent from Hampshire’s holdings this year, has long supplied weaponised bulldozers used in the demolition of Palestinian homes.

Hampshire Pension Fund is not simply investing in anonymous shares. It is investing in the very machinery of war.

Money Flowing Into Israel’s Economy

Alongside these global arms manufacturers, the Fund’s holdings show a further £28 million invested in Israeli-domiciled companies. These include major banks such as Bank Hapoalim, Bank Leumi and Israel Discount Bank, all of which have been named in United Nations reports for financing illegal settlements. Telecommunications firm Bezeq, real estate conglomerate Azrieli Group, and vehicle tracking company Ituran are also present. The largest exposure is Check Point Software Technologies, with nearly £25 million invested in a cyber defence company that has deep ties to Israeli state security infrastructure.

This is not incidental. It represents a strategic flow of local workers’ pensions into the economic and technological foundations of the Israeli state.

A Democratic Deficit at the Heart of the System

Southampton’s workers and councillors have no power to alter this. By law, their pensions must be administered through Hampshire’s fund. The result is that a Conservative-dominated county council makes financial decisions on behalf of city workers in Labour-run Southampton and Portsmouth. The structure itself is skewed: rural majorities dictate the terms, while urban employees are bound to decisions they cannot change.

This system allows Hampshire to invest in arms and Israeli firms with impunity, safe in the knowledge that local workers have no alternative.

Responsible Investment in Name Only

Hampshire County Council points to its Responsible Investment Policy as evidence of oversight. On paper, it is full of impressive affiliations: membership of the UN Principles for Responsible Investment, signatory to the UK Stewardship Code 2020, and a pledge to reach net zero emissions by 2050.

Yet these words collapse against the reality of the holdings. The Fund continues to channel money into arms manufacturers, banks complicit in settlement building, and tech companies profiting from surveillance. The policy rejects exclusions, preferring “engagement” with corporations. But engagement has not stopped Raytheon producing bombs or Lockheed Martin supplying jets. It has not dissuaded Israeli banks from financing the occupation. In truth, the policy is less a framework for ethics than a shield against accountability.

Silence from Southampton

Southampton City Council is not entirely powerless. It has a seat on the Hampshire Pension Fund Panel. It could pass motions calling for divestment. It could use its platform to apply pressure and expose the contradictions between Hampshire’s public policy and private investments. Other councils across the UK have raised similar issues over fossil fuels. Southampton could do the same over arms and Israel.

Instead, its Labour councillors have remained silent. They accept the system as it is, citing fiduciary duty and the fear of being portrayed as reckless with pensions. This silence mirrors Labour’s national stance, where rhetoric on values rarely translates into action. In choosing not to confront Hampshire, Southampton’s councillors become complicit in the investments themselves.

Whose Future Is Being Secured?

The Hampshire Pension Fund is meant to secure the retirement of Hampshire’s workers. Instead, it is securing the profits of arms dealers, Israeli banks, and multinational corporations. Every payslip deduction taken from a Southampton worker is another contribution to the machinery of war.

The question is no longer whether these investments exist – the evidence is in the Fund’s own disclosures. The question is whether local representatives will continue to look away, or whether they will confront the uncomfortable reality that Hampshire pensions are bankrolling war and occupation.

Evidence: Hampshire Pension Fund Holdings

Arms and Technology Companies (FOI disclosure, March 2025)

BAE Systems – £426,202

Raytheon / RTX – £15,088,459

Lockheed Martin – £2,235,546

Amazon – £71,204,267

Alphabet (Google) – £48,948,530

Total in these firms: £137,903,004 (1.35% of the Fund)

Israeli-Domiciled Companies (Holdings report, March 2025)

Bank Hapoalim – £933,672 + £569,515

Bank Leumi – £191,765 + £289,828

Israel Discount Bank – £99,044

Bezeq Israel Telecom – £506,879

Check Point Software Technologies – £24,907,576

Ituran Location & Control – £446,452

Azrieli Group – £59,409

Total in Israeli-domiciled firms: ~£28 million

I have published these findings because I asked the questions. First to Southampton City Council, who confirmed they hold no pension investments themselves, and then to Hampshire County Council, who were forced to disclose what the Pension Fund actually holds.

Wherever you live, you can do the same. Write to your council. Submit a Freedom of Information request. Demand to know where your pension money is being invested. Transparency is the first step – and it is up to us to force it.

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© Mohamed Miah – The Narratives. All rights reserved.