THE Labour Government has been accused of “standing in the way” of international law after a former Foreign Office official made a series of bombshell allegations about behind-the-scenes manipulation around weapons exports to Israel.
Writing in The Guardian, former Foreign Office second secretary Mark Smith alleged that UK ministers and officials were aware of breaches of international law committed by nations such as Saudi Arabia and Israel – but that documents were edited or deleted to avoid having to suspend arms sales.
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.
“During my tenure, I witnessed senior officials under intense pressure from ministers to skew the legal assessment,” he wrote.
“Reports were repeatedly returned to me with instructions to ‘rebalance’ the findings – to downplay evidence of civilian harm and emphasise diplomatic efforts, regardless of the facts. I was often summoned for verbal instructions – a tactic deliberately employed to avoid creating a written record that could be subject to freedom of information requests or legal scrutiny.
“In one instance, a senior official bluntly told me, ‘This looks really bad,’ before urging me to ‘Make it look less stark.’ My protests were ignored.
“Significant edits were made to my reports, shifting the focus away from credible evidence of war crimes to paint a misleading picture of ‘progress’ by foreign governments. This was not an isolated case – it was part of a systemic effort to suppress inconvenient truths.”
He added: “Israel’s repeated bombardments of Gaza have killed thousands of civilians and destroyed vital infrastructure, actions that are clearly incompatible with international law. Yet the UK Government continued to justify arms sales to Israel, relying on the same flawed processes and evasive tactics.”
Smith resigned his role with the UK Government in August 2024, citing concerns about being complicit with war crimes.
Scottish Green MSP Ross Greer said it was the “worst kept secret on these islands that the UK Government is complicit in Israel’s genocidal assault on Palestine”.
“Whilst our neighbours in Ireland and Spain condemned the slaughter of Palestinians, the UK Government under both the Tories and Labour actively supported it, supplying the Israeli regime with weapons and equipment, and providing diplomatic support.
“The reports of British ministers influencing ethical standard reports into the sale of weapons are genuinely disgusting. We cannot allow Labour and the Tories to stand in the way of the UK and international laws put in place to prevent war crimes.”
Greer called for the UK Government to take a “clear stand in defence of Palestine”, adding: “So far, Keir Starmer has been more interested in winning Donald Trump's favour than standing up to his wicked plans”.
Last week, US president Trump sparked international concern with his calls for the ethnic cleansing of Gaza, saying that America would take ownership of the region from Israel.
The UK Government did not openly criticise Trump’s support for war crimes, but reiterated its own position in support of a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Trump then sanctioned the International Criminal Court (ICC) – which has an arrest warrant on Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu for alleged crimes against humanity.
The UK joined 78 other countries in backing the ICC against the sanctions.
Asked for a response to Smith's allegations, a Foreign Office spokesperson said: “These allegations are a misrepresentation of this government. Our export license controls are some of the most robust in the world and are strictly guided by legal advice.
“As soon as the Foreign Secretary took office, he ordered a review into Israel’s compliance with International Humanitarian Law and on September 2, we suspended export licences to Israel for use in military operations in the Gaza conflict.
“We are considering the implications of the ceasefire in Gaza for our assessments of Israel’s compliance with international humanitarian law and will keep our export licensing position under review.”
