V-MIL Audit: Tesco

V-MIL Audit — Tesco PLC

Audit Phase: V-MIL Audit Target Entity: Tesco PLC Audit Domain: Defence & Security Sector Linkages — Israeli Market

Direct Defence Contracting & Procurement

No public evidence identified of Tesco holding direct contracts, framework agreements, or memoranda of understanding with the Israeli Ministry of Defence (IMOD), Israel Defence Forces (IDF), Israel Prison Service, Israel Border Police, or other Israeli state security bodies ¹.

No public evidence identified of Tesco appearing in official Israeli defence export directories (SIBAT), international defence exhibition catalogues, or defence procurement registries in connection with Israeli state contracts ¹.

No public evidence identified of any press releases, official announcements, or public filings disclosing defence cooperation, joint ventures, or formal partnership agreements between Tesco and Israeli defence entities ¹.

Tesco is a consumer retail and grocery business whose primary activities are food retail, general merchandise, and financial services ¹.

Dual-Use Products & Tactical Variants

No public evidence identified of Tesco manufacturing, marketing, or supplying ruggedised, tactical, mil-spec, or defence-grade variants of its products ¹.

No public evidence identified of Tesco products being reclassified or repurposed for military end-use applications ¹.

No public evidence identified of Tesco applying for or holding export licences for military goods, submitting end-user certificates for Israeli military or security end-users, or undergoing government export control reviews in connection with Israeli defence sales ¹.

Heavy Machinery, Construction & Infrastructure

No public evidence identified of Tesco equipment, vehicles, or machinery being documented in verified reports, NGO investigations, photographic evidence, or UN documentation of construction, maintenance, or demolition activity within Israeli settlements, the separation barrier, military installations, or occupied territories ¹.

No public evidence identified of Tesco supplying construction equipment, heavy machinery, or infrastructure materials to Israeli contractors engaged in settlement expansion, checkpoint construction, detention facility building, or military base development ¹.

Supply Chain Integration with Defence Primes

No public evidence identified of Tesco providing components, sub-systems, raw materials, or specialist manufacturing services to Israeli defence prime contractors including Elbit Systems, Israel Aerospace Industries, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, or Israel Military Industries ¹.

No public evidence identified of Tesco entering joint development programmes, co-production agreements, technology transfer arrangements, or licensed manufacturing agreements with Israeli defence firms ¹.

Tesco has invested in Trigo Vision (now Trigo Retail), an Israeli computer vision AI company that developed cashierless checkout technology for autonomous retail stores ²³. The company was founded in 2018 by Michael and Daniel Gabay, both veterans of Israel’s elite Talpiot military intelligence unit ². Trigo’s confirmed customers include Shufersal (Israel), Netto (Germany), and Tesco (UK) ³. No public evidence identified of Trigo holding contracts with IDF, IMOD, or Israeli security forces ¹. The technology involves ceiling-mounted cameras and AI tracking of customer movement, but no evidence was found of this surveillance capability being supplied to Israeli defence or security forces ¹³.

Logistical Sustainment & Base Services

No public evidence identified of Tesco holding contracts to provide catering, transport, fuel supply, waste management, facilities maintenance, telecommunications, or other support services to IDF bases, military training facilities, detention centres, or security installations ¹.

No public evidence identified of Tesco providing shipping, freight forwarding, or port handling services specifically servicing Israeli defence logistics, military cargo, or arms shipments ¹.

Munitions, Weapons Systems & Strategic Platforms

No public evidence identified of Tesco acting as a prime contractor, subcontractor, or licensed manufacturer of small arms, artillery systems, armoured vehicles, tactical drones, naval vessels, or other lethal weapons platforms ¹.

No public evidence identified of Tesco supplying munitions, explosive precursors, or strategic materials to Israeli defence manufacturers or state security entities ¹.

Export Licensing, Regulatory & Legal History

No public evidence identified of publicly known government decisions to grant, deny, suspend, or revoke export licences for Tesco products to Israeli military or security end-users ¹.

No public evidence identified of investigations, citations, or enforcement actions related to Tesco’s compliance with arms embargoes, export control regimes, or sanctions affecting defence trade with Israel ¹.

No public evidence identified of court proceedings, judicial reviews, or legal challenges brought against Tesco specifically regarding defence supply relationships with Israel ¹.

Tesco received a legal notice from the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) in October 2024, but this notice pertained to the sale of agricultural products sourced from Israeli settlements in the West Bank and Golan Heights, not defence supply relationships ⁴. The ICJP identified Mehadrin Ltd alongside Miriam Shoham, Galilee, Hadiklaim, and Achdut-Achva as key companies exporting illegal settlement goods to the UK, including dates, mangos, avocados, tahini, halva, and bakery products ⁴.

Civil Society Scrutiny & Documented Investigations

Tesco is documented sourcing agricultural products from Mehadrin Ltd, an Israeli company that operates packing facilities in illegal West Bank settlements including Beka’ot, Messua, Tomer, Na’aran, and Netiv Hagdud, as well as through subsidiary Miriam Shoham Ltd. in Ramot settlement in the occupied Golan Heights ⁵. Mehadrin exports approximately 15% of its total fruit production to the UK market, including through Tesco ⁵.

Mehadrin is controlled by Delek Group at approximately 53.5% ownership as of March 2025 ⁶. Delek Group is an energy conglomerate; no evidence of direct defence industry holdings was identified in this audit ¹⁶.

Tesco admitted in 2008 to sourcing a number of products from illegal settlements in the West Bank and Golan Heights, including avocados, herbs, grapes, and stonefruit ⁷.

Tesco announced in August 2014 it would stop selling products originating from the West Bank (specifically dates) from September 2014, describing this as a commercial decision ⁸. Tesco has not made an equivalent announcement regarding other settlement-origin products ¹.

In contrast, the Co-operative Group announced in June 2025 it would stop sourcing products from Israel and 16 other countries where internationally recognised human rights abuses occur ⁹.

Corporate Watch reported in 2019 that Mehadrin, a Tesco supplier, was still mislabelling products from illegal settlements as “produce of Israel” rather than correctly indicating West Bank origin ¹⁰. Whether this practice continues and whether Tesco has conducted supplier audits since the 2014 date-sourcing suspension requires current verification ¹.

The BDS movement has run consumer boycott campaigns against Tesco since 2009, focusing on the sale of Israeli fresh produce and dates from settlements ¹¹. Tesco established a dedicated boycott hotline in 2009 in response to campaign pressure ¹¹.

A Tesco worker in Northern Ireland was suspended in early 2026 for refusing to handle Israeli products, sparking protests and a petition that gathered over 2,000 signatures ¹². The worker was later reinstated ¹².

Tesco donated nearly £700,000 to the British Red Cross Disaster Fund for the “humanitarian crisis in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory” in 2023 ¹³. No evidence was found of any portion being directed to Israeli defence-linked organisations. No evidence of Tesco employee matching donations to FIDF (Friends of the IDF), IDF reservist support organisations, or similar entities ¹.

No evidence was found of Tesco board members (Ken Murphy, Gerry Murphy, Melissa Bethell, Bertrand Bodson, Thierry Garnier, Stewart Gilliland, Caroline Silver, Karen Whitworth, Chris Kennedy, Imran Nawaz) holding defence industry directorships or military-adjacent roles ⁵.

Tesco is not directly listed in the UN OHCHR settlement database; its connection to settlement-linked activity is through suppliers such as Mehadrin ¹⁵. Tesco is not named in the PAX “Companies Arming Israel and Their Financiers” report (June 2024) ¹.

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