CAMPAIGNERS have praised a committment by London Mayor Sadiq Khan to kick the world’s largest arms fair out of the capital.

The pledge, made in the mayor’s manifesto for the May 6 election, follows pressure from thousands of campaigners who emailed London mayoral candidates to demand that they oppose the Defence & Security Equipment International (DSEI) fair. 

Mr Khan said he will “explore all possible options to end it being hosted in the city,” while Green mayoral candidate Sian Berry has also vowed to prevent the event from returning.

The mayor’s committment backs up his calls in 2017 and 2019 for organisers to move the event out of the capital.

At the biannual fair, hosted at east London’s Excel centre, multimillion-pound arms deals are struck while weapons firms showcase their latest lethal products.

Human rights abusers such as Saudia Arabia and Israel routinely attend the event, where illegal weapons such as cluster bombs have previously been displayed. 

While reports suggest that the fair, due to take place in September, may be held online this year as a result of Covid-19, campaigners want to see it shut down for good. 

The email action was co-ordinated by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) and the Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT). 

PSC campaign officer Lewis Backon said that the fair turns London into a “playground for arms dealers and human rights-abusing states.”

“This includes Israel, which operates an oppressive regime of military control over the Palestinian people in the territory it illegally occupies,” he said.

CAAT’s Caroline Jones said that British weapons have played a central role in the Saudi-led six-year bombardment of Yemen, warning that deals negotiated at the fair in September “could be used in atrocities and abuses for years to come.”