LONDON

A new report has accused London’s £34 billion ($45.43 billion) public sector pension fund of investing billions in companies allegedly complicit in Israel’s human rights abuses against Palestinians.

The Blood Money report, released Thursday by the campaign group Shake The CIV, claims that the London Collective Investment Vehicle (LCIV) — which manages £34.2 billion on behalf of 32 London local authorities — has over £7 billion ($9 billion) invested in firms “enabling Israel’s violations of Palestinian human rights.”

The fund represents the deferred wages of around 700,000 Londoners.

According to the report, LCIV’s investments include almost £1 billion ($1.4 billion) in arms manufacturers, such as £10 million ($13 million) in Israeli weapons producer Elbit Systems and £228 million ($305 million) in British firm BAE Systems.

The report also highlights £5.2 billion ($7 billion) in technology companies accused of facilitating Israel’s surveillance and control of Palestinians, including over £2.5 billion ($3.3 billion) in Microsoft.

For the first time, the report reveals the names of elected councilors who sit on LCIV’s Shareholder Committee — information the organization has refused to make public despite multiple Freedom of Information requests.

LCIV, which quietly sold £6.7 million ($9 million) in Israeli government bonds in 2024, has faced growing protests and says it is reviewing its investments in 12 unnamed companies.

However, the fund has refused to disclose the names of those companies, even to the councilors representing the local authorities whose pension funds it manages.

The report also criticizes LCIV for deleting a July 2024 statement on Gaza from its website, later replacing it in July 2025 with a post claiming to be “neutral” on the issue.

Campaigners say this stance “belies its claims to be a responsible investor,” noting that LCIV took “swift action” over the Russian invasion of Ukraine but not in response to Israel’s actions in Gaza.

Shake The CIV is calling on LCIV to “immediately, completely, and permanently divest from all companies complicit in Israel’s genocide and apartheid against Palestinians.”

Cllr Liam Shrivastava, a member of Lewisham Council’s Pension Committee, said in a statement: “At stake here are not only the lives of millions of human beings but also local authorities’ right to make democratic decisions about financial matters. In the 1980s, many London councils made history by cutting financial ties with apartheid South Africa and recently, many have divested from fossil fuels. Genocide is the crime of crimes — we have to do whatever we can to stop it.”

Five boroughs — Waltham Forest, Islington, Tower Hamlets, Southwark and Lewisham — have announced plans to divest following local campaigns.

However, their pension funds remain invested through LCIV portfolios, and campaigners say progress has been slow.

Since October 2023, Israeli attacks have killed over 67,000 Palestinians in the enclave, most of them women and children.

The relentless bombardment has left Gaza largely uninhabitable, leading to widespread starvation and diseases.