A growing coalition of Dorset councillors demand that local company RCV Engines Ltd immediately halt the export of engine components used in Israeli military drones. Local elected officials have signed an open urging the Dorset-based firm to cease its complicity in Israel’s Gaza genocide.
RCV Engines: supplying components for Israel’s genocide in Gaza
The call follows damning revelations by Declassified UK. The investigative outlet found that RCV supplies engine components to Israel Aerospace Industries’ APUS 25 quadcopter. Israel has used these in deadly attacks on Palestinian civilians, including children, in Gaza.
Dorset-based campaign umbrella the Olive Branch Coalition has coordinated the open letter to demand an end to the local company’s complicity. Local signatories to the letter include councillors from across the political spectrum, highlighting the unifying support for the initiative.
Those backing the letter include Green Party councillors Alasdair Keddie, Chris Rigby, Simon Bull, Joe Salmon, Kate Salmon, Sara Armstrong, and Jonathan Orrell, independent councillor Dr Felicity Rice, Labour councillor Peter Cooper, Conservative councillor Carole Jones, and local party Poole People councillor Mark Howell.
Green Party councillor Joe Salmon said:
A Dorset company is supplying parts for technology linked to the killing of civilians. That should disturb every single one of us.
RCV may claim its exports are lawful, but legality is no shield from moral responsibility. If their components are enabling war crimes, they must act immediately.
Local Dorset MP calls for answers
Mid Dorset and North Poole MP Vikki Slade, while not a signatory to the letter, has confirmed she has independently written to RCV Engines seeking urgent clarification about its exports. In a statement shared with the Olive Branch Coalition, Slade confirmed:
I have written to [RCV Engines] for clarification and to call on them, if the exports are continuing, to cease. If they do not, I will be writing to the Minister to ask for those businesses with exemptions to have them suspended.
She reaffirmed her support for the Liberal Democrat position to suspend all arms exports to Israel in light of the:
horrendous assault on Palestine, in particular on Gaza.
The letter highlights a number of legal findings from international bodies:
February 2024: The International Court of Justice (ICJ) declared it “plausible” that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.
- July 2024: The ICJ ruled that Israel is guilty of maintaining a system of apartheid and racial segregation.
- November 2024: The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
- May 2025: The UK government is now facing legal proceedings over its continued arms trade with Israel.
Export licence exemptions enabling supply to genocidal Israel
Despite these developments, RCV Engines reportedly continues to export drone engines without a formal licence. The open letter highlights how the company “boasts” about:
operating without the need for an export licence when shipping worldwide
Conservative Party MP for Christchurch Christopher Chope made this possible, securing an exemption for the company in 2022.
The Olive Branch Coalition says this exemption undermines UK export control laws, which clearly prohibit the export of goods that risk being used in violations of international law.
Olive Branch Coalition spokesperson Sam Lewis said:
RCV Engines’ business with Israel’s military is unacceptable, especially in the shadow of war crimes investigations and the International Court of Justice ruling Israel as an apartheid state.
We are proud of Dorset’s councillors and local MP who are speaking out to ensure our county is not complicit in apartheid or genocide. We urge local constituents who also feel strongly about this to contact their representatives to back this open letter too.
Israel killed a Poole-based aid worker
The letter also references the death of John Chapman, a Poole-based Royal Marine and humanitarian worker, who Israel killed in a drone strike on a clearly marked aid convoy in Gaza in April 2024 – a strike that also killed other British nationals.
Campaigners argue that allowing local businesses to continue enabling the Israeli military in this context is both morally and politically indefensible.
The signatories are calling on Dorset’s RCV Engines to:
- Immediately halt all exports to Israel’s military – direct or indirect – until Israel cease international law violations.
- Engage transparently with UK authorities to demonstrate compliance with international humanitarian law.
- Audit and publicly declare all exports to Israel since January 2024.
- Educate its employees and partners about the use of their products in conflict zones.
A message to Dorset: ‘reject any role’ in genocide
The open letter ends with a message to Dorset.
We, the undersigned, urge Dorset businesses, MPs, councillors, and residents to reject any role in the supply of lethal systems to an apartheid state on trial for genocide — and seek to ensure that a company within our county is not complicit in state violence and crimes against humanity.
The full open letter and list of signatories is available for viewing and signing by individuals and organisations worldwide here.
Feature image via the Canary
