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LONDON: A senior UK defense chief accepted a trip to Jerusalem partly paid for and run by an arms company while it was bidding for a British Army contract for a program he oversaw, The Times reported on Monday.

Mike Cooper, a top civil servant at the Ministry of Defence, visited the Mount of Olives, Wailing Wall and other sites in the city alongside two senior army officers and representatives of Elbit Systems Ltd. in September 2022.

Elbit is an Israel-based firm with its headquarters in the city of Haifa. It has a Britain-based arm, Elbit UK, with several factories across the country.

Cooper was, and remains, in charge of the British Army Collective Training Transformation Programme, designed to modernize the military’s training procedures.

Another of the three, Brig. Phil Kimber, later went to work for Elbit, to whom a company whistleblower alleges he passed information before it bid for the CTTP contract, The Times reported.

The trio also visited other companies in Israel, and an MoD source said the five-day trip was “normal business stuff.” All events and gifts during the trip, as well as its funding, were disclosed by the MoD.

The Times, though, reported that an Elbit employee said in an internal email that the trip had given the firm an “advantage” in winning the 15-year contract for the CTTP worth around £2 billion ($2.7 billion).

“The visit was a success — we won’t get another opportunity like this but neither will any other consortium,” The Times reported the employee as saying.

“They see us as highly credible and we need to be careful not to lose the advantage the Israel visit now gives us.”

The bidding process to partner for the CTTP was opened after the tour. A decision is expected soon, with Elbit UK bidding as part of a consortium that includes its Israeli parent company, The Times reported.

The employee told the newspaper that the trio visited Israel to see how Elbit could deliver training for the British Army similar to what it already provided to the Israeli military.

“Elbit was trying to impress them. They went round to see Elbit-delivered IDF (Israel Defense Forces) training,” the source added.

The Times reported that a letter to Cooper and Kimber from a senior Elbit UK figure in June 2023 allegedly said: “As you saw when you visited Israel last September, we understand what it takes to be an effective strategic partner, and we remain fully committed to bring this level of success to the army.” 

The letter added: “In a world of increasing complexity and global challenges, we recognise how critical CTTP remains to our army.”

The MoD previously decided that Elbit UK had gained no commercial advantage in the bidding process after a whistleblower alerted the ministry to Kimber passing information to the company, because Kimber was “not employed by the army at the time of the contract advert, pre-qualification questionnaire or invitation to negotiate.”

Elbit UK told The Times: “(We follow) the requirements and procedures advised by the advisory committee on business appointments regarding our employees who have served in the UK armed forces.”

The MoD told The Times: “This visit was part of routine engagement with industry and formally declared in the usual way.

“We maintain regular dialogue with defence companies interested in our programmes and ensure any conflicts of interest are managed during our procurement processes.”