Labour MPs supporting Hamas have criticized the UK’s Attorney General for his reluctance to endorse a prohibition on arms exports to Israel.
Richard Hermer KC has informed Foreign Office staff that he would withhold approval for restricting certain weapons sales until they can definitively identify which items might be used in violation of international law.
According to government data, the UK has granted over 100 arms export licenses to Israel between Hamas’ October 7 attacks and May 31 of this year. Currently, there are 347 active licenses for Israel, including those issued before the recent conflict began.
Lord Richard Hermer, 56, Attorney General for England and Wales and Advocate General for Northern Ireland, was born in South Glamorgan to a “blue-box” (that’s the KKL-JNF box – DI) Jewish family. His father was a “proud” Conservative who served as was a city councilor in Cardiff and county councilor in South Glamorgan. Hermer has said that he disagreed with his father “across a wide array of political topics,” but they never had a falling out over politics. Hermer served as sabbatical officer of the Union of Jewish Students.
In the coming weeks, the government led by Sir Keir Starmer is expected to face mounting pressure from numerous Labour MPs regarding the suspension of arms sales to Israel. The Attorney General plays a crucial role in the government’s decision-making process, evaluating the legal aspects of potentially suspending export licenses to Israel. While the Foreign Office officially oversees this review, Starmer is actively involved in the proceedings.
Labour backbenchers are accusing their government of “finagling” over the ban, suggesting “It would be better just to be honest and clear and say that it’s now got to the point where we shouldn’t be continuing any further with arms licenses,” the Telegraph reported on Monday.
Labour MP Andy McDonald, representing Middlesbrough and Thornaby East, who served as Shadow Employment Secretary in Keir Starmer’s shadow cabinet but was not given a cabinet post after the party’s July 4 landslide victory, told the Telegraph: “All such weapons could clearly be used to break international law. Moreover, there is a clear risk that those weapons will indeed be used in that way. That is the test. In addition to International Law, whether weapons are deployed offensively or defensively is irrelevant. … But if the Attorney General wants officials to provide further advice to him, the issue is now that the officials do so with the utmost urgency.”
The UK Government’s Dept. for Business & Trade issued an ad hoc report saying since October 7, 2023, the UK had approved 345 licenses for military exports. In December 2023 and April 2024, the government decided not to suspend existing licenses or stop granting licenses for export of arms to Israel and that all arms export licenses are kept under review.
This is a list of UK-made military products being sold to Israel (Source: Campaign Against Arms Trade)
Components for military radars – 279
Components for targeting equipment – 147
Components for military aircraft head-up/down displays – 92
Components for submarines – 82
Components for unmanned air vehicles – 81
Components for military support aircraft – 67
Components for electronic warfare equipment – 193
Components for combat aircraft – 59
Components for military training aircraft – 62
General naval vessel components – 46
On December 18, 2023, Conservative Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch decided not to suspend existing licenses or stop granting licenses, but to keep her decisions “under careful review.” And then, on April 8, 2024, following “advice” from the Foreign Secretary, Kemi Badenoch decided that the government’s position “would remain unchanged.”
