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SNP MPs in call for full UK arms embargo on Israel

SNP MPs in call for full UK arms embargo on Israel

The National5 days ago
A total of 57 MPs have written to Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds calling on the Labour Government to explain why arms exports to Israel have increased since it suspended 30 out of around 350 licences last September.
The letter, which was penned by Steve Witherden, Labour MP for Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr, also raises concerns about a lack of transparency on the licencing of arms exports.
READ MORE: Tory MP in stark 'Hague' warning to David Lammy over UK complicity in Gaza
The letter states: "We are writing once again to call for a full arms embargo on Israel and request greater transparency from the Government regarding the UK's arms exports and military licensing."
The letter points towards figures published by The National which showed that Labour licensed exports of more military equipment to Israel in the final three months of 2024 than the Tories did for all of 2020-2023.
The signatories to the letter said "further urgent questions" must be raised on the UK Government's continued licensing of arms exports.
The letter asks: "Why is the UK continuing such co-production with a state that the Government has acknowledged is not committed to complying with international humanitarian law?
"Why did the value of licences for co-production with Israel increase so significantly following the arms suspension?"
The letter also asks what message such a surge in licensing "sends to Israel."
It goes on to consider the continued export of F-35 parts, which have been documented being used by Israel in Gaza.
The Labour Government has repeatedly claimed that it is not sending F-35 parts directly to Israel, however the UK is still contributing components through an international pool.
Despite this, the Foreign Secretary insisted earlier on Tuesday that he was "satisfied that we are not sending arms that could be used in Gaza".
The letter further calls on the UK Government to take steps to improve transparency on arms licences.
All nine SNP MPs have signed the letter, as well as a number of current Labour MPs, Green parliamentarians and a host of independent MPs including Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana.
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Other signatories include the four Labour MPs who who recently lost the whip for "repeated breaches of discipline" – Brian Leishman, Rachael Maskell, Chris Hinchliff and Neil Duncan-Jordan – as well as Diane Abbott, who was recently suspended pending an investigation into comments she made on racism.
The full list of signatories is:
Rt Hon. Diane Abbott MP
Shockat Adam MP
Paula Barker MP
Apsana Begum MP
Siân Berry MP
Kirsty Blackman MP
Olivia Blake MP
Baroness Christine Blower
Baroness Pauline Christina Bryan of Partick
Richard Burgon MP
Ian Byrne MP
Ellie Chowns MP
Rt Hon. Jeremy Corbyn MP
Ann Davies MP
Carla Denyer MP
Dave Doogan MP
Neil Duncan-Jordan MP
Sorcha Eastwood MP
Cat Eccles MP
Rt Hon. Stephen Flynn MP
Mary Kelly Foy MP
Andrew George MP
Stephen Gethins MP
Lord John Hendy KC
Chris Hinchliff MP
Imran Hussain MP
Adnan Hussain MP
Kim Johnson MP
Ayoub Khan MP
Ben Lake MP
Peter Lamb MP
Ian Lavery MP
Chris Law MP
Graham Leadbitter MP
Brian Leishman MP
Clive Lewis MP
Seamus Logan MP
Rachael Maskell MP
Andy McDonald MP
Rt Hon. John McDonnell MP
Llinos Medi MP
Baroness Nosheena Mobarik
Iqbal Mohamed MP
Grahame Morris MP
Yasmin Qureshi MP
Adrian Ramsay MP
Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP
Liz Saville-Roberts MP
Zarah Sultana MP
Jon Trickett MP
Brendan O'Hara MP
Dr Simon Opher MP
Kate Osborne MP
Lord Prem Sikka
Nadia Whittome MP
Pete Wishart MP
Steve Witherden MP
The Foreign Office and the Department for Business and Trade have been contacted for comment.
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