'Resign if you disagree', Labour tell civil servants over Israel
The BBC reported that some 300 staff had signed a letter addressed to Foreign Secretary David Lammy last month in which concerns were raised about UK 'complicity' with Israel.
The letter questioned Labour's decision to continue to license exports of military equipment to Israel, saying: "In July 2024, staff expressed concern about Israel's violations of international humanitarian law and potential UK Government complicity.
'In the intervening period, the reality of Israel's disregard for international law has become more stark."
READ MORE: 'Reprehensible': LBC spark fury with report on Israel's seizure of Madleen aid ship
It further accused the UK Government of contributing to "the erosion of global norms", pointing to both the weapons exports and the secret visit to London in April by Israel's foreign minister Gideon Sa'ar.
As The National previously reported, UK Government figures have shown that more military equipment was licensed for export in the final three months of 2024 – after Labour suspended some 10% of export licences – than had been licensed through all of 2020-2023.
Labour have also refused to stop exporting parts for F-35 fighter jets, which Israel has used in Gaza, claiming that to do so would endanger UK military operations elsewhere – and has continued sending spy planes over Gaza to aid Israel.
The BBC reported that the reply to the Foreign Office staff's concerns was sent from Sir Oliver Robbins and Nick Dyer, the two most senior civil servants in the Foreign Office.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy U-turned after saying Israel is breaching the lawIt told the hundreds of staff that if their 'disagreement with any aspect of government policy or action is profound your ultimate recourse is to resign from the Civil Service. This is an honourable course."
The pair said that the "bargain at the heart of the British Civil Service is that we sign up to deliver the policies of the Government of the day wholeheartedly, within the limits imposed by the law and the Civil Service Code".
The UK Government's official position is that Israel is "at risk" of breaching international law. Foreign Secretary Lammy previously said Israel was breaching the law on multiple occasions, before U-turning in an embarrassing parliamentary climbdown.
Israel's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is wanted for arrest by the International Criminal Court, and the country is facing credible accusations of committing genocide.
The BBC reported that the dismissed letter was 'at least the fourth such document sent by concerned civil servants to ministers and Foreign Office managers since late 2023'.
A Foreign Office spokesperson said there were 'systems in place which allow [staff] to raise concerns if they have them".
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
UN panel urges UK to renegotiate Chagos Islands deal
A UN panel has urged the UK to renegotiate a deal returning the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, saying it "fails to guarantee" the rights of the Chagossian deal, signed last month, returned sovereignty of the Indian Ocean archipelago to Mauritius, but the UK retained the right to run a military base on Diego Garcia, the largest of the Chagos preventing the Chagossian people from returning to Diego Garcia, "the agreement appears to be at variance with the Chagossians' right to return," the UN experts wrote.A Foreign Office spokesperson said the UK-Mauritius deal had been "welcomed by international organisations including the UN secretary general". The panel of four experts were appointed by the UN Human Rights Council, but are not UN staff and are independent from the said by the UK keeping the military base of Diego Garcia, the Chagossian people were hindered from being able to "exercise their cultural rights in accessing their ancestral lands from which they were expelled".The panel called for the current deal to be suspended and for a new agreement to be the agreement, the UK would pay an average of £101m a year for 99 years to continue operating the military base on Diego Garcia, in concert with the Chagos Islands are located in the Indian Ocean about 5,799 miles (9,332km) south-east of the UK, and about 1,250 miles north-east of UK purchased the islands for £3m in 1968, but Mauritius has argued it was illegally forced to give away the islands in order to gain independence from Garcia was then cleared to make way for a military base, with large groups of Chagossians forcibly moved to Mauritius and the Seychelles, or taking up an invitation to settle in England, mainly in Crawley, West then, Chagossians have not been allowed to return to Diego the UK-Mauritius deal was signed last month, two Chagossian women living in the UK - who were born on Diego Garcia - launched a last-minute legal bid to stop it, saying the agreement did not guarantee the right of return to their island of birth. The deal includes a £40m trust fund to support Chagossians, a component that the UN panel also questioned would "comply with the right of the Chagossian people to effective remedy... and prompt reparation". "The agreement also lacks provisions to facilitate the Chagossian people's access to cultural sites on Diego Garcia and protect and conserve their unique cultural heritage," the panel Foreign Office spokesperson said: "We recognise the importance of the islands to Chagossians and have worked to ensure the agreement reflects this."Shadow Foreign Secretary Dame Priti Patel said the Conservatives "have been warning from the start that this deal is bad for British taxpayers and bad for the Chagossian people"."It is why I have introduced a bill in Parliament that would block the [agreement] and force the government to speak to the people at the heart of their surrender plans," she the House of Commons and House of Lords have until 3 July to pass a resolution to oppose the deal being ratified.
Leader Live
2 hours ago
- Leader Live
Reeves to say spending review will reflect ‘priorities of working people'
The Chancellor is expected to focus on 'Britain's renewal' as she sets out her spending plans for the coming years, with big increases for the NHS, defence and schools. Arguing that the Government is 'renewing Britain', she will acknowledge that 'too many people in too many parts of the country are yet to feel it'. She will say: 'This Government's task – my task – and the purpose of this spending review is to change that, to ensure that renewal is felt in people's everyday lives, their jobs, their communities.' Among the main announcements is expected to be a £30 billion increase in NHS funding, a rise of around 2.8% in real terms, along with an extra £4.5 billion for schools and a rise in defence spending to 2.5% of GDP. But Wednesday could present a tough prospect for other government as the Chancellor seeks to balance Labour's commitments on spending with her fiscal rules. The Institute for Fiscal Studies has already warned that any increase in NHS funding above 2.5% is likely to mean real-terms cuts for other departments, or further tax rises to come in the budget this autumn. This could mean a budgetary squeeze for areas such as local government, the justice system and the Home Office, despite reports that policing would receive an above-inflation settlement. The Chancellor has already insisted that her fiscal rules remain in place, along with Labour's manifesto commitment not to increase income tax, national insurance or VAT. She will say on Wednesday: 'I have made my choices. In place of chaos, I choose stability. In place of decline, I choose investment. In place of retreat, I choose national renewal. 'These are my choices. These are this Government's choices. These are the British people's choices.' Other announcements expected on Wednesday include £39 billion for social and affordable housing over the next decade as the Government aims to meet its target of building 1.5 million new homes by the next election. The Treasury said this would see annual investment in affordable housing rise to £4 billion by 2029/30, almost double the average of £2.3 billion between 2021 and 2026. The additional spending has been welcomed by homelessness charities, with Crisis calling it 'a determined political signal that housing really matters' and Shelter describing the move as 'a watershed moment in tackling the housing emergency'. The Chancellor has also already announced some £15.6 billion of spending on public transport in England's city regions, and £16.7 billion for nuclear power projects, the bulk of which will fund the new Sizewell C plant in Suffolk. There is also expected to be an extension of the £3 bus fare cap until March 2027 and an extra £445 million for upgrading Welsh railways. But one of the big losers from the spending review could be London, which is not expected to receive funding for any significant infrastructure projects or powers to introduce a tourist levy – both key requests from Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan.
North Wales Chronicle
2 hours ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Reeves to say spending review will reflect ‘priorities of working people'
The Chancellor is expected to focus on 'Britain's renewal' as she sets out her spending plans for the coming years, with big increases for the NHS, defence and schools. Arguing that the Government is 'renewing Britain', she will acknowledge that 'too many people in too many parts of the country are yet to feel it'. She will say: 'This Government's task – my task – and the purpose of this spending review is to change that, to ensure that renewal is felt in people's everyday lives, their jobs, their communities.' Among the main announcements is expected to be a £30 billion increase in NHS funding, a rise of around 2.8% in real terms, along with an extra £4.5 billion for schools and a rise in defence spending to 2.5% of GDP. But Wednesday could present a tough prospect for other government as the Chancellor seeks to balance Labour's commitments on spending with her fiscal rules. The Institute for Fiscal Studies has already warned that any increase in NHS funding above 2.5% is likely to mean real-terms cuts for other departments, or further tax rises to come in the budget this autumn. This could mean a budgetary squeeze for areas such as local government, the justice system and the Home Office, despite reports that policing would receive an above-inflation settlement. The Chancellor has already insisted that her fiscal rules remain in place, along with Labour's manifesto commitment not to increase income tax, national insurance or VAT. She will say on Wednesday: 'I have made my choices. In place of chaos, I choose stability. In place of decline, I choose investment. In place of retreat, I choose national renewal. 'These are my choices. These are this Government's choices. These are the British people's choices.' Other announcements expected on Wednesday include £39 billion for social and affordable housing over the next decade as the Government aims to meet its target of building 1.5 million new homes by the next election. The Treasury said this would see annual investment in affordable housing rise to £4 billion by 2029/30, almost double the average of £2.3 billion between 2021 and 2026. The additional spending has been welcomed by homelessness charities, with Crisis calling it 'a determined political signal that housing really matters' and Shelter describing the move as 'a watershed moment in tackling the housing emergency'. The Chancellor has also already announced some £15.6 billion of spending on public transport in England's city regions, and £16.7 billion for nuclear power projects, the bulk of which will fund the new Sizewell C plant in Suffolk. There is also expected to be an extension of the £3 bus fare cap until March 2027 and an extra £445 million for upgrading Welsh railways. But one of the big losers from the spending review could be London, which is not expected to receive funding for any significant infrastructure projects or powers to introduce a tourist levy – both key requests from Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan.
