The managing director of a controversial factory at the centre of a major protest has told campaigners they have got their facts wrong.

Thousands of people are expected to arrive in Brighton on Monday to target the EDO MBM/ITT factory.

The organisers, Smash EDO, have been fighting for six years to close the base in Home Farm Road in Moulsecoomb, Brighton, but they have said this will be their biggest day of action yet.

But EDO MBM/ITT managing director Paul Hills says the campaigners have failed to acknowledge important facts about the factory.

In a rare interview he told The Argus: "The extent of what we manufacture is the parts for some aircraft – the components are at the end of a very long supply chain.

"We make things that ensure the safe carriage and release of weapons from aircraft.

"We supply the UK Ministry of Defence. I would, and have, stood up in court and sworn under oath that we don't supply to Israel which is one of the things Smash EDO accuse us of."

But the group, who have described the bank holiday protest as a 'mass street party against, war, greed and militarism', were quick to hit back and accuse the company of hiding under a veil of secrecy.

Smash EDO spokesman Andrew Beckett said: "If that is the case, I ask them to prove it.

"They have failed to comply with our 2007 Freedom of Information (FOI) requests asking for a breakdown of where the arms they make go and whether they have a licence to supply Israel.

"If they really don't supply other countries it would be a help for them to go public with the facts."

Mr Hills said the company had nothing to hide but were not at liberty to discuss what they made or where the products went as it is “a matter for their customers only”.

He said: “The FOI was blocked by the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) so they could take it up with them.

“BERR control export licensing, I would not have the direct power to block anything.

“I will not get in to an argument with people who know very little about what we do. They are only using parts of information.

“I won’t get into what these items are or where they go because that’s for our customers only.

“I strongly object to the use of emotive language such as calling us an ‘arms factory’ and a ‘bomb factory’. It’s very annoying and it’s simply not true.”

More than 800 people attended the Smash EDO demonstrations last year and the group have estimated Monday’s march attendance could be double that.

The meeting place and route of the demonstration have not yet been disclosed but the campaigners have uploaded a map of more than 30 banks and businesses they may target on their website.

Mr Hills said the EDO MBM/ITT factory would have security in place on the day.