Whitehall denies ‘secret embargo’ on arms exports to Israel

Britain has denied suspending arms exports to Israel after a suggestion that a de facto ban had already been implemented.
David Lammy, the foreign secretary, has ordered civil servants to investigate potential breaches of international law amid mounting expectation of a partial arms embargo. Last week The Times revealed that ministers could withdraw export licences for specific weapons they could link to suspected war crimes.
According to The Jewish Chronicle, one person involved in selling weapons to Israel was told by British officials that licences had been “suspended pending policy review”. But the report was dismissed by Whitehall sources, who insisted there had been no change in export licensing.
The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) is responsible for issuing arms export licences. A spokesman said: “There has been no change to our approach to export licences to Israel. We continue to review export licence applications on a case-by-case basis against the strategic export licensing criteria.
“It is vital that we uphold both our domestic and international legal obligations when it comes to arms exports. We are reviewing the advice regarding exports to Israel and no decision has been made.”
• British troops on standby to evacuate Lebanon
Britain’s relationship with Israel has become more strained since the election of the Labour government. Sir Keir Starmer has restored funding to UNWRA, the UN agency responsible for dispensing aid to Palestinian refugees, and dropped British objections at the International Criminal Court to the arrest warrant proceedings against Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister.
A decision on arms exports is expected this summer after officials review evidence of war crimes in Gaza.
A government source said it was “quite likely” that ministers would take a different approach from the last government and this could happen before parliament returned after the summer recess.
“They want to do a full assessment. An update to parliament does not have to wait until parliament returns,” they said. They were unable to clarify whether this meant a total ban or ban on certain equipment such as components for F-35 fighter jets.
Britain’s arms sales to Israel were worth £18.2 million last year, a relatively small amount. There is concern in government that a blanket arms embargo could undermine the UK’s privileged role in constructing F-35 fighter jets.
Britain lobbied to become a tier-one partner for the US fighter jet programme to protect jobs in the arms industry. But the fifth-generation stealth jets have been used to bomb Gaza, where nearly 40,000 people have died, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.