Scotland’s most substantial local authority pension scheme has been sharply criticized for investing £83 million in 11 of the world’s biggest arms firms.

At the close of 2014, Glasgow City Council’s Strathclyde Pension Fund had shares amounting to £19.6 million in Lockheed Martin and Boeing – two of the biggest arms manufacturers on the planet.

The figures were obtained under Freedom of Information (FoI) legislation, and published in a report by the Scottish Herald on Thursday.

Glasgow City Council’s pension scheme is one of the world’s largest, boasting total assets in excess of £13.9 billion.

It pays 70,000 Scottish pensioners, and has an additional 130,000 people either waiting to retire from local councils or contributing to the fund. Additionally, it consists of 200 other small and large employers.

Lockheed Martin, one of the Strathclyde Pension Fund's leading benefactors, produces military aircraft, armored ground vehicles, missiles, unmanned systems for air and naval systems. It exports arms to states across the globe, including Israel and Bahrain.

RT