Kimble faces flack as Clarion acquires defence shows

Within minutes of Clarion Events confirming it had acquired DSEi, ITEC and LAAD defence exhibitions from Reed Exhibitions today, managing director Simon Kimble got his first taste of the level of animosity towards the shows. A blogger calling himself Johnny Void posted a scathing attack on the largest independent exhibition organiser in the UK and urged people to write to 'laughing boy' Kimble to let him know how they feel about his latest acquisition.

Last summer, Reed chief executive, Crispin Davis, announced that Reed would sever ties with the arms industry by the end of 2007. The decision was in response to pressure from anti-arms-trade campaigners and writers at Reed Elsevier's scientific journals. "The sale of these three exhibitions to Clarion Events completes Reed Exhibitions' withdrawal from the defence-exhibitions sector announced in 2007," Reed said today in a statement.

It was always going to take a brave man to take on the ownership of DSEi, Europe's largest arms fair. In 2005, The Independent newspaper discovered that an exhibitor was offering cluster bombs for sale. Clarion Defence has acted swiftly to announce on the DSEi website its decision to ban from display, publication, offer or marketing in any form, all munitions and references to them, that can loosely be described as Cluster Munitions.

This move, however welcome, will do little to silence the Disarm DSEi movement. But it does indicate that Kimble is readying himself for the long diplomacy battle that lies ahead. I know Simon Kimble. He's an ambitious business savvy entrepreneur who is moving into waters deeper than he's ever swum before. Asked by the Guardian about ethical concerns over the acquisition, Kimble said today: "The events we have acquired are thriving with full government support, serving only the legitimate global defence-and-security industry. Exhibitors and visitors must adhere to the highest regulatory scrutiny, not just complying with but exceeding UK and international law. Defence and security is a legitimate business like any other and we will apply the same very high standards, rigour, experience and skill to organising events in this sector as we do in all of our others."

The next DSEi runs in September 2009 at Excel. Between now and then, Kimble will be forced to face some of the toughest personal and professional challenges of his career. That in itself will determine his diplomacy and bravery. I hope, along the way his passion for every event he manages will help tighten and regulate further an industry that could otherwise so easily spill blood on his hands.