An interesting and witty look at the issue, though I was a little irritated at the jump cuts. I presume you are also aware of the degree to which the supposed private-sector profits are subsidised by the safety net of the ECG Dept. I am in business and am astonished at the use of government money to underwrite sales to customers with dodgy credit ratings. Thanks for such a clear exposition of the week-kneed supplicancy of Tony Blair's government.
Paul Reading

In response to your programme investigating the unethical behaviour of the British government, concerning their foreign policy on the selling of arms, it was extremely informative and I was shocked and discussed by the secretiveness of the government. This has lead me to write to you asking for any information on who to contact or what action I can take to show my anger towards the hypocrisy of the governments stance on arms sales.
Karen Mullins

What a shame that the broadcast was delayed in Wales by a bunch of men throwing a misshapen ball around in the mud. The whole of the nation should have watched Correspondent

Nick Mills

Well done Will Self & team for exposing some of the nastiest stuff that we all put our names to today. It makes me feel awful that I might ever have put a cross by the name of any of those people. Also well-done Clare Short for standing up for her beliefs... a REAL MP! What a shame that the broadcast was delayed in Wales by a bunch of men throwing a misshapen ball around in the mud. The whole of the nation should have watched Correspondent.
Nick Mills

Thought the arms programme was excellent.. I have to say its as if nobody questions this anymore. Nobody in comparison with the 80's questions the expenditure on arms, in comparison with say the NHS or GDP with India and Pakistan etc.
Simon

I found the programme very informative and I enjoyed Will Self's approach, but I did not enjoy the production at all. The tricky photography and the need for a different image every few seconds was annoying. It also seemed patronising to the audience to imply that they could not listen to a debate on a serious topic without being constantly bombarded with distracting images. Libby Lamb I always considered the BBC to be unbiased. I was obviously wrong. I am quite happy with balanced reporting, that was not what was broadcast yesterday. Do the city of London and the greater south want us all to be city bankers? Or manufacturing of washing machines? Or of course the other growth industry, B& Q warehouses. Britain must have an edge in the future, god we have little, or no heavy or leading edge industry left. As for Mr Self, the name says it all.
Larry Cain

Is part of the 'cover up' the embarrassment because I seem to remember the deal was done with part of the payment in oil at a time when oil was around $25-30/barrel and then shortly afterwards the oil price collapsed in early 1986. Never heard much more about this one at the time. It must have cost someone a lot!
Tony Lusted

We live in a democracy in which the actions of those who govern us should be accountable. That they won't even be interviewed is frankly nothing less than an abuse of power

Michael Wyatt

We share the profound frustration of Will Self. We live in a democracy in which the actions of those who govern us should be accountable. That they won't even be interviewed is frankly nothing less than an abuse of power. I voted for this government principally because I thought we might now enter a period where ethics and moral decisions would be made. I truly believed that things would be different and better. The betrayal of promises and the arrogant disregard that ministers have when questions are difficult is deeply disappointing. Such a gap between government and some parliamentarians blows a whole right through any notions of integrity and moral superiority. Addicted to power is right. And that is a sure sign of corruption.
Michael Wyatt

Very sad to see that your flagship programme on arms sales is presented by a man who is clearly biased against arms sales at all. The show simply mirrored Mr. Self's beliefs, instead of looking equally at both sides of the argument.
Fred

The security of these islands was assured by thousands of workers, unsung heroes, here in the North East at the Vickers-Armstrong arms factory

Anon

During the 20th century the security of these islands was assured by thousands of workers, unsung heroes, here in the North East at the Vickers-Armstrong arms factory on the Scotswood road in Newcastle upon Tyne, in addition Lord Armstrong was an innovator and a philanthropist, a friend to statesman and king alike. Mr Self, who has obviously never wielded anything heavier than a pen, would do well to remember this, your mere presence in the North East is an insult, DO NOT either you or your Southern cronies darken our door again!
Anon

I thought it started promisingly, and overall I found the programme interesting. But please, why was there a need for irritating, irrelevant, unnecessary and distracting background music? At times, the music swelled so much I wanted to switch off. And if that wasn't bad enough, there had to be the usual video gimmicks as well, with flashing and tumbling images to add further distraction. For me, this was a potentially interesting piece of TV journalism marred by the BBC's current pervasive attempts to appeal to an audience with a limited attention span - dumbing down in other words.
Mike Bosman

Bravo! Well done and this concept and article could be directed to most or all members of the UN Security Council, not just Britain. A creative piece of work and discouraging (albeit accurate) conclusion.
Joe McMahon

In support of the programmes' message, we comment: [1] If the result of taking a moral stance to reduce Britain's arms manufacture, was a significant increase in job losses, then we are sure the government could find a way to accommodate this. The precedents are numerous. When motor manufacturing, mining and various other industries were in acute distress the government of the day found the resolve to try and accommodate the losses. So your interviewees' argument would appear not to hold water. [2] The action of the press officer at the NAO, simply supports the fact that no one involved in issues concerning arms manufacture can honestly defend their action or simply answer straight forward questions. The MD of the tank tracks company appeared unable to address the moral question of where and to what use his products are put. We found the direction of the programme and its questioning stance most informative. Keep up the good work Will.
Michael & Gill Payne

Robin Cook's 'ethical foreign policy' claim was as fatuous as any of his other utterances, and a classic example of New Labourspeak

Anon

Naturally, the conclusion reached is that we should scrap one of our largest export sectors, force over 120,000 people to find new jobs, and at the same time at great expense be forced to buy in - and thus rely totally on - foreign arms and materiel for our armed forces. I hold no brief for this government - Robin Cook's 'ethical foreign policy' claim was as fatuous as any of his other utterances, and a classic example of New Labourspeak. By contrast, the Indian Defence Minster spoke with admirable honesty, when referring to the impossibility of predicting future events, allies and enemies with certainty.
Anon

Thank you very much for this excellent insight into the UK arms trade. Without dwelling too much on the actions of those who use arms for less creditable reasons, the programme seemed to explain the main points of both arguments in an interesting context of the Indian arms show. The very creative medium of an addiction assessment by a leading Psychiatrist was a credit to the team and the BBC. Will Self's sharp mind make up for his droney voice and stop's channel 4 's Mark Thomas dominating the mix of humour with an intellectual message in UK programming.
Roxanne Lane

I was very interested by Will Self's 'Correspondent' report tonight, it contained much concise information and the degree of acid observation, wittily delivered, which I have come to expect from this capable thinker. Given the, sadly unsurprising, poor response from the government I was very surprised that Mr Self did not take the trouble to debate with anyone who disagreed with him. One of the last speakers (from the DMA?) said he liked debate but not being "bashed". Was an invitation to debate offered and rejected? I would really like to have heard Mr Self's response to some of the more obvious arguments: Where aggression exists, defence is legitimate. Preparing for war helps preserve peace. If weapons are to exist, somebody must sell them.
William Barnes

I am 46, I am a counsellor/artist/teacher/recovering alcoholic/addict/Buddhist - will self's programme about arms dealing and paralleling it to addiction was a stroke of genius. I hate the TV, "I am the slime..." Frank Zappa etc about mass manipulation, I saw this programme by accident. It's the best thing I've seen on TV since the Christmas ghost stories in the early seventies by Rodney Clark. Will self and the team that got this programme together have restored my faith in television.
Alistair

I have never heard a spokes-person on any subject concerning government business give a clear and straight forward answer on any subject ever

Paul Buck

It is very difficult to understand how these people can justify spending taxpayer's money on paying soldiers to demonstrate new defence technology to potential buyers (i.e. countries at war, with as far as I can see enough problems). During the programme Mr self visited an arms fair in India. He tried to get the British officials, salesmen if you will to explain what it was that they were actually selling on their market stall and they didn't just refuse, they looked at him as if he were some kind of alien. The fact that he could not get a straight answer from anybody on the subject is TV news in its entirety; I have never heard a spokes-person on any subject concerning government business give a clear and straight forward answer on any subject ever.
Paul Buck

Just a quick mail to say how much I enjoyed this evenings programme on the arms trade - seems a bit odd to have enjoyed a programme about such a deadly business but I was transfixed by a programme about a subject which would normally have turned me off. I hope those being interviewed watched the programme! Congratulations to everyone involved.
Frank Black

I would just like to say how much I welcomed the programme tonight. It is so refreshing to see that there is still some investigative journalism going on. The Government made itself look completely stupid by refusing to talk. Lets have more of Will Self PLEASE.
Pauline

Congratulations to Mr. Self and all concerned with the making of this important programme. Although many excellent programs have been made on this subject in the past, alas, little has been accomplished. Still, it will be worth it in the end. Thank you for your effort.
Ed bishop

Possibly the most important fact I took away from this programme was the 'buried' (and MOD funded) investigation by the University of York into the actual size and importance of the British arms/export industry to the national economy. Previously I did not have any reply to the simple argument that the arms industry is a bastion of the British economy and that duly, it should not be reigned in. We also saw the reluctance of government bodies to supply information in the light of real evidence and this highlights other problems endemic to our country's system. Tony Blair's implication into the continued cover up of that certain missing NAO report is indicative of his style of governance: he and his government will say many things to please many people, no matter how hypocritical or diametrically opposed those statements of intent may be.
Richard Yorke

It is particularly depressing that in spite of the government's rhetoric neither the NAO nor the MoD would provide a serious comment on the issues

Dr Paul Williams

I thought the programme provided a useful overview of the main issues although there could have been more on 1) arms trade figures and details for New Labour's period in office; and 2) how Britain's trade relates to the European Union's Code of Conduct and the attempts by the United Nations to curb the trade in small arms in particular. It is particularly depressing that in spite of the government's rhetoric neither the NAO nor the MoD would provide a serious comment on the issues. Consequently, ridiculing the dealers and their media representatives was an appropriate response. Finally, congratulations on locating one of the few examples of 'joined-up government' currently on offer!
Dr Paul Williams

Congratulations on making such a professionally biased and distorted programme that successfully presented the aims and objectives of the correspondent and not the facts or other perspectives that should have been taken into account. This is the thin end of the wedge of the new biased BBC that is driving me and many others to independent TV where impartial views are more clearly presented.
Anon

I found this report by Will Self very interesting and extremely depressing. I know for a fact that all letters to MP including Secretary of States and the Prime Minister himself should be answered in 20 days. And every point in the member of the public's letter should be answered. This system works much of the time, as unless the subject matter itself is Joe Bloggs speciality, the questions would normally be quite simplistic. And that said much of what the government does I support. But when it comes to defence, well that's another story. I was impressed with Will Self's persistence, but I think and I am sure he will keep going. Every time he appears on TV or Radio he should make it his life long pledge to mention the NAO report that he is so desperate to get his hands on.
Anon

Great Stuff Will, we need more and more exposure if we are ever going to rid ourselves of our hypocrisy, Please show this program every week on prime time.
Ian Ratcliffe

I work for the government and the programme just confirmed that there are still a lot of jobsworths with limited intelligence working in the defence industry

Duncan Thomson

It just goes to show how much a sham open government is. I work for the government and the programme just confirmed that there are still a lot of jobsworths with limited intelligence working in the defence industry and who pay lip service to open government in the civil service. They should be summarily dismissed from their posts if they do not comply with open government, but not told why then they might understand what open government is all about. Putting aside the wider thoughts on Israel, it was refreshing to see someone so honest about his profession. Blair and his sycophants (and the civil service in general) could learn a lot. They are no different from any other previous government; they fear open communication and it is seen as power and should be controlled. Very sad and pathetic.
Duncan Thomson

Having watched Points of View earlier (it was a quiet weekend) I am reluctant to join the throng who write in but find myself compelled to doing so having just watched Addiction to Arms. Ann Clywd for Prime Minister, Will Self for deputy is all I want to say. In 45 minutes and in spite of being a paid-up member of the Labour party for the last 20 years, I realised the source of my Dis-ease with the labour party and its leader. Hypocrisy. MANY, MANY THANKS
Sue Berger

Unusually, I am motivated to complain about the programme because I feel it is extremely biased and should not have been aired. Firstly, I should note that I have nothing to do with the arms trade, whatsoever. From my vantage point, the programme was no more than a platform for Mr Self to expose and promote his strong, negative views on the arms industry, which, no doubt, he held even before his first interview. Mr Self comes across as an arrogant man, I imagine that he (and perhaps the BBC) feel that he is cast from the same mould as Paxman. Indeed he is not; he is neither as eloquent nor as objective as Paxman. As far as I am concerned, Mr Self has demonstrated a lack of objectivity that should disqualify him from presenting any investigative reporting programmes in the future.
Davin Yap

This was as brilliant as one might have expected and hoped. All thanks to the whole team working with will Self to produce a fantastic piece of reportage. So, first, a big thank you to one and all concerned. Secondly - I personally remain in despair at the situation, since we all knew, in our heart of hearts that this was what was going on. The investigation has only confirmed what we already knew. I remain in despair, since I cannot see this expos� having any effect on anything at all. All right - it was far better to do the programme than not. But what difference will it make? If you get any news of any change in government strategy and approach, I do hope you will report it, so that we don't die of our despair. Thanks again for doing the programme. It was far better done than not, but I'm damned if I see how anything will change. God bless you all (and I don't say that lightly)
Adam Thomson

Congratulations on this programme this evening by Will Self. Very thought provoking - why it didn't get more advance publicity I don't know. Yes - I do know - we are so used to the usual rubbish on TV something like this would come as too demanding. Even on a Sunday generally there are no programmes on ethics, morals - and what happened to Panorama during the week? Anyway - try to get some more programmes of this calibre on our screens.
Pamela

I welcome your investigation wholeheartedly on the British Arms Trade. I am ashamed as a Briton to have an unrepresentative, unaccountable, elected government that appear no more open or moral than the Tories they replaced. I am appalled by the whole issue of the Government taking charge in the sale of arms across the world, if at all. As an individual I am committed to peace, inclusion, holism and love not war. I am not frankly surprised by any of your discoveries apart from one. I am outraged and disgusted to find that the British Army is being used to promote arms sales from Britain across the world. I will endeavour to communicate this fact further. I agree with your statements made about addiction, and the government's denial and deceit. If you need any employees for further issues in a similar vein, I would be willing to work with you!
Emma Lloyd

As someone who works for Will Self's hated "UK's largest defence company" I must admit that I enjoyed the show. In agreement with his suspicion of the Government's involvement with the defence industry, TB is a superb salesman and far superior an "ambassador" compared to his predecessor JM. That aside, it was interesting to see an outsider's view of the industry and how "secretive" it is perceived as being.
Anon

Full marks to the MOD and BAE representatives who told him to get lost

David Gunn

As a lifelong watcher/listener/admirer of the BBC I have just witnessed what must be about the worst programme that you have every produced. Will Self has no idea how the real world of arms works. He doesn't understand that if you have strong arms that you know how to use, you almost certainly won't have to use them. Therefore, to buy from Britain, an acknowledged leader in arms manufacture is likely to improve your security from an aggressor. Only a minute proportion of world arms are used in suppression of minorities although you would think from Self's programme that it was the main aim of arms sales. Full marks to the MOD and BAE representatives who told him to get lost. If we did not sell the arms the French and others would do so and would go laughing to the bank while our manufacturers were put out of business. I don't mind paying my licence fee but if you are going to produce rubbish like that I shall have to think again.
David Gunn

I have just watched your programme by Will Self on British arms sales. Mr. Self found it difficult to get answers to his questions. Would you tell me how much this inane and pointless programme cost the long-suffering license fee payer?
Jack Hartnup

I haven't a great deal to say on the matter to be quite honest, only that I watched the programme on BBC2 on Sunday and was pretty horrified at what I saw. I thought that Will Self was very good at winning arguments and whoever did the research for the program had thought of everything and carried out the necessary inquiries overall I was greatly impressed by the whole program. But the thing that bothered me the most is how reluctant anyone to do with the British government is to give any information away. It seems to be becoming harder and harder to find the information that should readily available to us in reality. I also watch the Mark Thomas Product on channel 4 sometimes and the same determination not to give anything away is usually evident with anyone to do with the government or ministries involved with the government on this program too. Personally I think that there is cause for concern here too, though maybe not on the same scale as the mysterious world of legal arms dealings eh?
Ben

An excellent programme which exposes the hypocrisy of new Labour on one of the most important issues today. What can we do to force more transparent government behaviour on the death for jobs trade?
Steve Lawless

Will Self is surely correct: the government is to be held in contempt not only for its over-reliance on arms but also for its cynical refusal to put forward anyone to debate the issue.
John Higgon

FANTASTIC Programme. Mr Self is a star. We need to see more of him on the TV.
N.Monro

Will Self's programme on the Arms Trade was a juvenile treatment of a serious subject. His tongue in cheek questions, such as 'Is this a full size gun?' when looking at a miniature model, added nothing to the sum of human knowledge. His questioning was pathetic, eliciting no new insights, and the 'addiction' metaphor that ran through the programme simply debased the debate. Disappointing, shallow rubbish.
Peter Flach

I very much appreciate an alternative interpretation of current affairs

Bill Nayland

Thank you for tonight's programme. I very much appreciate an alternative interpretation of current affairs, which is bound to contain more truth that the alternative on offer, namely silence. Congratulations.
Bill Nayland

I often have doubts about how much influence a TV programme or newspaper article can have, but well-reasoned and persuasive programmes such as this must have a cumulative effect. Well done. I have met a number of overpaid executives of defence manufacturers. The profit margins are huge. They will fight hard to protect this easy money. Some years ago I also audited the accounts of a large defence manufacturer which used to charge all of its overheads and other costs to inflate the price of its UK products, so it could make even more profit from its exports. So the argument about reducing the cost to UK taxpayer is not always true. (Can't prove this now of course- happened 20 years ago)
Andrew Levens

The Will Self programme on arms exports was one of the best things I've seen for some time. Very measured and rational, the moral slovenliness of these people needs exposing. Congratulations to the programme makers.
Michael Clague

Was Will self forced to take on a story that clearly bored him? Was the monotone background voice a disguised yawn on a rather serious topic? Nice attempt (now my turn for ridicule - something Self used in a pathetic manner) at an Ali G impersonation with the closing comments of, "Is this real?" when pointing at a toy model of a canon at an arms expo and "...ever been asked to camouflage and entire country?"
Chris James

Just watched the program, sadly its was enlightened viewing which I hope the BBC will take further. Thanks to Will for making this hypocrisy entertaining and engaging.
Will Foster

An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind

Gandhi

Will Self's programme this evening was excellent. What we need is much more transparency in all of our dealings. He was. He didn't 'go undercover'. He didn't hide. He wasn't afraid to be anything but what he was. "An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind." Gandhi
Mark

Bloody marvellous. Well done to the BBC and the correspondent team on the "Addicted to Arms" program I've just watched. This sort of thing makes the license fee worth paying.
Mathew Wilcox

I'm writing to voice my appreciation for the recent documentary 'Addicted to arms: A Will Self investigation'. I'm very glad that this sort of investigative programme is being made. Please continue!
Jane

Tonight's investigation by Will Self of the British arms business and the government's stance on it was excellent. Witty, accessible, well researched, well told, great camera work and some great music with it. Investigative reporting at its best! And - from the point of view of someone working in a BBC newsroom - of a kind which isn't seen half often enough on the BBC. Many thanks for the food for thought and the good laughs that adorned it.
Jenny Witt

Will Self's investigation in to the 'Masters of War' was horrific for one huge reason - it should have been on BBC1 at primetime.
Colin Parker

I find my concerns about secrecy (and hence unaccountability) in government are rekindled

David Smith

Having watched "Addicted to Arms", I find my concerns about secrecy (and hence unaccountability) in government are rekindled. However, the question I would like to put to you is this: - Are YOU really concerned, or are you simply acting as an innocuous placeholder; to give a feeling that somebody cares, that something is being done, and so reduce the concern felt by some members of the public; and at the same time identify other people like myself who feel strongly enough to contact you about the issue.
David Smith