Wednesday, June 11, 2025
A matter of conscience
The paper says that this is the fourth internal letter from staff about the offensive in Gaza, which started in October 2023 in response to Hamas’s deadly attack on Israel:
In their letter of 16 May the staff, from embassies around the world and at various levels of seniority, questioned the UK’s continued arms sales and what they called Israel’s “stark … disregard for international law”.
The Foreign Office said it had systems for staff to raise concerns and added the government had “rigorously applied international law” in relation to the war in Gaza.
The reply to the letter was sent by the permanent under-secretary, Oliver Robbins, and Nick Dyer, the second most senior civil servant in the Foreign Office. They told the signatories: “If your disagreement with any aspect of government policy or action is profound, your ultimate recourse is to resign from the civil service. This is an honourable course.”
The reply did not address the substantive complaints by staff.
The letter, first reported by Novara Media, said: “In July 2024, staff expressed concern about Israel’s violations of international humanitarian law and potential UK government complicity. In the intervening period, the reality of Israel’s disregard for international law has become more stark.”
It also cited the killing by Israeli forces of 15 humanitarian workers in March and Israel’s suspension of all aid to Gaza in the same month, “leading many experts and humanitarian organisations to accuse Israel of using starvation as a weapon of war”.
It said the UK government’s position had contributed to the “erosion of global norms”, citing continued weapons exports and the visit to London in April by Israel’s foreign minister, Gideon Sa’ar, “despite concerns about violations of international law”. The Foreign Office described Sa’ar’s visit as private, even though he met the foreign secretary, David Lammy.
The staff letter added: “Supported by the Trump administration, the Israeli government has made explicit plans for the forcible transfer of Gaza’s population. Israel’s finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, recently stated that he envisions Gaza being completely destroyed. The Israeli security cabinet has approved plans to expand its military offensive to include the capture of Gaza. Any such transfer would be in clear breach of the fourth Geneva convention.”
The letter called on the UK government to uphold international law by promoting accountability at the international criminal court and implementing the judgments of the international court of justice. It also called for a suspension of the free trade deal, a complete suspension of arms sales, the publication of legal advice to ministers, an evidence-based review of the UK government’s response to the conflict, and encouragement of a Foreign Office speak-up culture by establishing an internal challenge mechanism.
The staff said there would be an impact on the UK’s reputation if it maintained its existing relationship with Israel.
Being civil servants of course, foreign office staff are there to do the bidding of their political masters, but their concerns about the direction of UK policy are legitimate and need to be listened to.
