MORE than £4m was invested in some of the world's largest arms manufacturers last year by Oxfordshire's local government pension fund.

Information obtained under the Freedom of Information Act shows £4.2m was put into companies manufacturing munitions, an investment made on behalf of thousands of public sector workers across the county.

Mark Fysh, branch secretary of trade union Unison, said the fact that Oxfordshire County Council, which administers the fund, was supporting the arms trade through the scheme was "repugnant".

Documents show investments have been made in BAE Systems, the UK's largest arms firm, and US firm Lockheed Martin, the world's largest arms company.

Mr Fysh said: "Unison understands the need for pension funds to perform well and the fact many British jobs are involved in the military.

"However, the idea that I and thousands of other members of the pension scheme here are funding the manufacture of arms that are sold to blow men, women and children to bits on a monthly basis in the most repressive regimes on the planet is repugnant."

Across the South East, pension funds for local government employees in Hampshire, East Sussex, Buckinghamshire, Surrey and Kent invested £82m in arms companies, according to information released by the Campaign Against the Arms Trade.

Oxfordshire County Council spokesman Jane Young added: "The council requires its fund managers to monitor and assess the social, environmental and ethical considerations, which may impact on the reputation of a particular company when selecting and retaining investments, and to engage with companies on these issues where appropriate."

Latest figures reveal that the black hole in Oxfordshire's local government pension fund stands at more than £360m.

But County Hall claims that the fund, which has almost 18,000 contributing employees, will be in credit by 2029.

A county council spokesman said: "The last actuarial valuation was on March 31, 2004, when the pension fund deficit was £366m.

"Since then the fund has enjoyed two years of very strong investment returns.

"The next actuarial valuation will take place at March 31, 2007, and we will not know until after this date what the new deficit will be. The Oxfordshire pension fund has been one of the best performing local authority pension funds over the past two years and has increased its assets by more than 40 per cent since 2004."