A Carlisle-based group supporting Palestine has called on a Cumbrian company to withdraw from contracts producing materials for F35 jet planes.

The Palestine Solidarity Group Carlisle & District has penned a letter addressing the management and staff of the Cumbrian firm, Technical Fibre Products Ltd (TFP), a subsidiary of James Cropper PLC.

According to the Campaigns Against Arms Trade (CAAT),  Technical Fibre Products Ltd (TFP), a subsidiary of James Cropper PLC based in Kendal, ‘produce nonwoven solutions for a number of cutting edge military aircraft and vehicles, including the F35.’

The CAAT claims 15 per cent of every F35 that Israel is using to bombard Gaza is made by British industry. 

The letter urged TFP to reconsider the contribution of its products to the ongoing violence in Gaza.

This move follows recent leafleting efforts by similar advocacy groups aimed at raising awareness amongst employees at the firm's Burneside base earlier this month. 

In the letter, the group states: "We appreciate that the wet-laid non-wovens created by TFP bring vital work and income to Burneside and the region as a whole; that Croppers/TFP is a valued employer with a strong history in the community.

"We value the role that Croppers/TFP plays in the local economy. Our gripe is not with the company, nor with the staff, who have faced recent redundancy and have been saved by the company’s diversification.

"We are concerned about markets. 

"We are all currently watching a genocide unfold live on our TV screens and tablets.

"Israel’s fleet of F35s depends on Lockheed Martin’s purchase of TFP (Croppers) products.

"By your own admission, no one else can make these products. You are world leaders in this innovative process.

"We therefore request that you focus your innovation on alternative markets," they wrote. 

Highlighting the delicate situation, the solidarity group also voiced concern over the employees' potential mental wellbeing and acknowledged the conflict likely felt by workers contributing to manufacturing materials used in F35s.

They stressed that the workers might have a "negative impact on their mental health and levels of anxiety" due to the company's production line.

James Cropper PLC was approached for comment.