THE UK Government has been challenged on whether it has officially “moved away” from the international definition of genocide after repeated evasions from Foreign Office ministers.
SNP MP Chris Law raised a point of order in the Commons after Foreign Secretary David Lammy told the House that using the word “genocide” to describe events in Gaza undermined the seriousness of the term.
Lammy’s statement puts him at odds with experts including leading Israeli Holocaust historians Daniel Blatman and Amos Goldberg, the UN special rapporteur for occupied Palestine Francesca Albanese, and the charity Amnesty International, who have all described Israel’s action in Gaza as genocide.
Last week, Albanese called for Lammy to explain the basis on which he was rejecting her and other experts’ conclusions that there was a genocide in Gaza. The UK Government declined to respond.
Law raised the issue in the House of Commons on Monday.
The SNP MP said: “On October 28, in response to a question on his statement on the Middle East, the Foreign Secretary stated that the terms of annihilation, extermination and genocide were, and I quote, ‘largely used for millions of people who lost their lives in crises such as Rwanda and the Holocaust, the Second World War. The way that people are now using those terms undermines the seriousness’, unquote.
“The following day, I wrote to the Foreign Secretary seeking urgent clarification.
“The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide states clearly that genocide means a specific set of acts committed with the intent to destroy in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group. It is not defined by the number of people killed, but rather the acts committed and the intent behind them.
“I could go on in quite some detail, but to get to the point, I have written two letters subsequently to seek clarification from the Foreign Office and indeed from the Foreign Secretary.
“In both accounts, I've had letters from the Minister for the Middle East, neither of which addresses either what was said in this House or indeed the definition of genocide. The reason I stand here today to make a point of order is this.
“Has the UK Government moved away from what we've been agreed to since 1947, the Convention on Prevention of Genocide, or not?”
Law was told that ministers’ statements were not a matter for the Commons speaker. The Foreign Office has again been asked for its response to the SNP MP.
It comes after a former official in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) alleged that UK ministers and staff were aware of breaches of international law by Israel but edited reports and deleted documents in order to be able to continue arm exports to the country.
Mark Smith, a former FCDO second secretary, said the UK Government had justified weapons sales to Israel through “flawed processes and evasive tactics”.
Law’s colleague, SNP MP Brendan O’Hara, said they were “incredibly serious accusations which, if confirmed, are utterly damning of the UK’s response to Israel’s collective punishment of the Palestinian people in Gaza”.
O’Hara went on: “Sir Keir Starmer dragged his heels over calling for a ceasefire and his continuing failure to condemn President Trump’s dangerous plans has been nothing short of cowardly.
“For a former Diplomat to make these allegations after having resigned over the UK Government failure to halt arms sales to Israel is extremely serious and speaks volumes about how craven Westminster has been on the destruction of Gaza.”
Under the UK’s export policy, the Government must block the supply of weapons to a nation if there is “a clear risk” that the items might be used to commit or facilitate “internal repression” or “a serious violation of international humanitarian law”.
In September 2024, the UK suspended 30 out of 350 weapon export licences to Israel, citing concerns that this threshold had been met. However, Labour ministers have continued to allow the export of F-35 parts, despite evidence that the fighter jets have been used in occupied Gaza.
