A British diplomat has resigned from the Foreign Office over the government’s refusal to halt arms sales to Israel, saying the department “may be complicit in war crimes”.
Mark Smith, who had been involved in assessing the legality of UK arms sales in the region, wrote to colleagues on 16 August. He said there was “no justification for the UK's continued arms sales to Israel” and detailed his objections to the Israeli government’s continued assault on Gaza.
“I have raised this at every level in the organisation, including through an official whistleblowing investigation, and received nothing more than ‘thank you, we have noted your concerns’,” he wrote.
Smith was second secretary counter terrorism – a diplomatic service rank – according to the email. He said he had had a “long career in the diplomatic service” and is understood to have been based at the British embassy in Dublin.
In the email, he described himself as a “former pen holder” on the arms exporting licence in the Foreign Office’s Middle East and North Africa directorate – which he said made him a “subject matter expert in the domain of arms sales policy”.
“Ministers claim that the UK has one of the most ‘robust and transparent’ arms export licensing regimes in the world, however this is the opposite of the truth,” he said.
“Each day we witness clear and unquestionable examples of war crimes and breaches of international humanitarian law in Gaza perpetrated by the state of Israel,” he wrote.
Last month, foreign secretary David Lammy told the House of Commons that he had started a new “process” on his first day in office to assess the legality of Britain’s arms trade with Israel.
Asked by another MP when he planned to publish the government's assessment of "whether any parties have breached international law since October 7 and what the consequences of any such breaches should be", Lammy said: “This is a quasi-legal process and it’s important that I follow the actions in the appropriate way, with all probity and all integrity so I would consider those assessments when they’re made available to me."
Smith's email, which was first revealed by journalist Hind Hassan, was sent to civil servants, embassy staff and special advisers to Foreign Office ministers.
He said it was “deeply concerning” that his concerns had been “disregarded”, adding: “It is my duty as a public servant to raise this.”
Detailing his objections, Smith wrote: “Senior members of the Israeli government and military have expressed open genocidal intent, Israeli soldiers take videos deliberately burning, destroying and looting civilian property and openly admit to the rape and torture of prisoners."
He said more than half of Gaza’s homes and 80% of commercial properties had been destroyed or damaged.
“Whole streets and universities have been demolished, humanitarian aid is being blocked and civilians are regularly left with no safe quarter to flee to. Red Crescent ambulances have been attacked, schools and hospitals are regularly targeted,” he added.
“These are war crimes.”
In a statement released after the email was leaked, Smith urged ministers to “listen to the concerns” of civil servants, adding that he was previously the lead author of the central assessment governing the legality of UK arms sales in the Middle East and North Africa Directorate.
As the lead author of the assessment government the legality of UK arms sales in the MENA directorate, he said, “it was my job to gather all relevant information regarding civilian casualties, international law compliance as well as assess the commitment and capabilities of the countries in question.”
“To export arms to any nation, the UK must be satisfied that the recipient nation has in place robust procedures to avoid civilian casualties and to minimise harm to civilian life. It is impossible to argue that Israel is doing that,” he added.
“I have written to the foreign secretary informing him of my resignation and urging him to urgently review the UK approach to the situation in Gaza. I sincerely hope that he will listen to the concerns of civil servants on this issue and make the necessary changes.”
An FCDO spokesperson said: “This government is committed to upholding international law. We have made clear that we will not export items if they might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of International Humanitarian Law.”
The spokesperson added: “There is an ongoing review process to assess whether Israel is complying with international humanitarian law, which the foreign secretary initiated on day one in office.
"We will provide an update as soon as that review process has been completed.”