British civil servant resigns over UK ‘complicity in war crimes’

Is the British government’s Middle East policy already coming off the rails?

As Kier Starmer went on to win the General election this year, he expounded to the press that the Labour Party was one of ‘law and order’. However, following international law does not appear to be on the agenda for the Labour leader, as a British civil servant has resigned following concerns about the government’s complicity in Israeli war crimes in Gaza, reported Middle East Eye and agencies on August 18th.

Two familiar sources close to the situation told Middle East Eye that a senior Foreign Office official emailed staff following diplomat Mark Smith’s resignation. The senior member expressed that concerns were heard and that a listening session would be held soon.

The Foreign Office declined to comment on the resignation.

On August 16th, Journalist Hind Hassan posted the contents of Smith’s letter on X. “It is with sadness that I resign after a long career in the diplomatic service, however I can no longer carry out my duties in the knowledge that this Department may be complicit in war crimes,” read the letter.

The letter revealed that Smith was a penholder in the arms exports licensing assessment process in the Middle East and North African department and, thus, a “subject matter expert in the domain of armed sales policy”.

“There is no justification for the UK’s continued arms sales to Israel yet somehow it continues,” he added.

READ: Hamas rejects ‘new’ Gaza truce deal in Doha ceasefire talks

“I have raised this at every level in the organisation, including through an official whistle blowing investigation and received nothing more than ‘thank you we have noted your concern’.”

The lack of concern from departmental heads was “deeply troubling” to Smith, who felt it was “his duty as a public servant to raise this”. The letter concluded with a call to other civil servants to “join the many colleagues who have also raised concerns over this issue”.

News of the first known British official to resign over Israel’s war on Gaza attracted widespread support on social media. UN special rapporteur Francesca Albanese praised the civil servant on X, stating, “I hope that more diplomats will follow the brave lead of Mark Smith and speak up against the enablers of Israel’s atrocities,”.

Human Rights Watch’s UK director called Smith “courageous” for his actions. “As George Orwell said, ‘Freedom is the right to tell people what they don’t want to hear’,” she added.

Gary Spedding, an independent cross-party consultant on Israel-Palestine, said the resignation was a “significant development.”

“This reveals the serious concerns and discomfort internally among Foreign Office officials and employees over their potential complicity in violations of international humanitarian law,” he commented.

“The threat of prosecution from lawyers hangs over their heads. This is an outrageous position that the government has put our civil servants into and must be addressed urgently by a massive policy shift regarding Israel-Palestine.”

READ: Gaza death toll reaches over 40,000

Smith’s resignation is not the first time that discontent has been seen in the civil service, as tensions have been growing over the government’s policies in Israel and Gaza since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October.

Declassified UK reported of a former aid civil servant who stated that as many as 300 employees in the Foreign Office had formally raised concerns of Britain’s support for Israel’s brutal offensive.

The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), which represents British civil servants, requested a meeting with the Cabinet Office last month to discuss the implications of the war in Gaza for government employees.

On the first day of assuming office, Foreign Secretary David Lammy commissioned new legal advice on Israel’s compliance with international humanitarian law during its offensive into Gaza.

Plans for suspending arms sales to Israel have been touted, with the Jewish Chronicle reporting that civil servants had stopped signing off on arms sales licenses to Israel recently.

Lammy has stated that concrete decisions to halt arms sales have been halted as the UK government has to distinguish between what UK-made weapons are being used for offensive and defensive purposes.

Middle East Eye and agencies.