Happy Easter Everyone,
Todays easter blog comes from the inspirational Matt Harbbage a long term SPEAK participant and currently a vicar at St. Paul’s Church, New Southgate, London, N11. Fr Matthew was the Assistant Priest at St Mark’s Regents Park, having served his curacy in the Diocese of Lincoln, since his ordination in 2015.
Fr Matt is married to Catherine, who is Assistant Vicar for Partnership Development at St Martin in the Fields in Central London. Matt is also a regular participant in DSEI arms fair resistance. He urges us all to think about prioritising attending actions at the upcoming stop DSEI 2025 and to put Monday 1st to Thurs 11th 2025 in your calendar. More on DSEI below
When I was at university, burnt out from a gap year doing Christian youthwork, it was SPEAK which reignited my passion for my faith – and helped me discover a vital dimension to the gospel: Social Justice. Meeting with other students, praying, doing the “pray and post” postcards, and coming up with creative actions was really exciting.
Now as an Anglican vicar, I continue to seek social justice as a central part of my worship of God. Jesus’ answer to “what is the greatest commandment?” Sums it up for me – love God and love your neighbour. Jesus cheated picking two commandments, but the two cannot be separated!
In this crazy busy and uncertain world we live in (Trump 2.0), I hold on to a piece of ancient wisdom, given a new twist by a modern rabbi:
“Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world’s grief. Do justly, now. Love mercy, now. Walk humbly, now. You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it.”
I thank God for networks like SPEAK, bringing people together and helping us endure in loving people and planet
Here is Matt at DSEI
DSEI 2021: BBC London: September 14th 2021
Where Matt Is Vicar
Info about DSEI
Every two years, the global arms trade comes to London. DSEI, one of the world’s largest arms fairs, returns to London’s Docklands this September. SPEAK and the wider friends of SPEAK network has taken part many times over the years and a decade ago at our peace festival 2015 we held our day of action at the arms fair and we also support no faith in war actions in 2019, 2021 and 2023.
This is where those who profit from war, repression and injustice do business. This is where we can stop them.
1,700+ arms companies plan to set up shop, marketing their lethal wares to an expected 36,000+ attendees from around the world.
DSEI (Defence & Security Equipment International) is one of the world’s largest arms fairs. It is run by Clarion Events, who are headquartered in London, but who also host 24 other arms fairs around the world (alongside other less bloodthirsty events such as the Baby Show). DSEI takes place once every two years in September, at ExCel – the huge exhibition centre in London’s Docklands.
The UK government helps to organise this arms fair, invites military buyers an arms companies from around the world, all at taxpayer expense.
In 2023, DSEI brought together 1,600 exhibitors and 45,000 delegates from over 100 countries to network and make deals. This year, exhibitors will be selling everything from guns and bombs to fighter jets and warships, with live action demos promised to take place in the Royal Victoria Dock. They will be joined by companies selling surveillance equipment, drones, digital technology and other tools of repression to police and state agencies, as Counter Terror Expo takes place alongside DSEI.
DSEI is an important event for the UK state, which heavily subsidises and promotes the arms industry and helps organise the arms fair. The guest list includes delegates from countries involved in military conflicts and at war, and on the government’s own list of human rights abusers.
You can find out more on Campaign Against Arms Trade’s webpage dedicated to resisting DSEI
Can we actually stop the arms fair?
Shutting down a multi-million pound arms fair protected by security fences and police lines, with a huge amount at stake for the organisers and the UK state might sound like a pretty big ask. But it has been done before.
The Australian International Defence Equipment Exhibition was shut down for good by protests in 1991. APDSE was intended to be the first arms fair held in Australia for 17 years, but didn’t go ahead, in the words of the Acting Premier Kevin Foley, because of concerns about “the scale of the planned protests”, “the cost of security” and, without any hint of irony, supposed “possible threats of violence”. Then, in 2008, the Asia-Pacific Defence and Security Exhibition (APDSE) was cancelled due to public opposition.
More recently and closer to home, the Defence, Procurement, Research, Technology and Exportability (DRPTE) arms fair was chased out of Cardiff then Birmingham in 2019, after having been driven from Bristol in 2014. Glasgow sank Undersea Defence Technology (UDT) in 2018, with the local council vowing never to host arms fairs in the city again.
Where is the ExCeL centre? View Larger Map The ExCeL centre is in London’s docklands.
Tube: nearby stations include Royal Victoria, Custom House, and Prince Regent on the Docklands Light Railway (DLR). On the Jubilee line and DLR, slightly further away, is Canning Town.
Car: Follow signs for Royal Docks, City Airport and ExCeL (postcode E16 1XL).
If you’re from outside London: the TFL website explains how to get around London.
For more transport information, see ExCeL’s website. They also have an interactive map so you can get a sense of what it looks like inside.
Stop DSEI 2019: No Faith in War- Campaign Against Arms Trade Sep 4, 2019
DSEI 2021: BBC London: September 14th 2021
put Monday 1st to Thurs 11th 2025 in your calendar.
** Provisional SPEAK meet up Saturday 6th September 2025 2pm someone where near DSEi more details TBC