Hundreds of Foreign Office staff were told to consider resigning after they raised concerns about Britain’s stance on the war in Gaza, reports say.
A staff letter signed by over 300 members of Foreign Office staff was sent to Foreign Secretary David Lammy last month, raising concerns that Israel is violating international law and that the UK is potentially being “complicit” in its actions.
The BBC reports that the letter, signed by officials from London and overseas, also questioned the UK’s continued arms sales and cited the deaths of aid workers in Gaza.
It is understood to be at least the fourth sent by concerned officials since late 2023.
Meanwhile, the Foreign Office has insisted that it has “rigorously applied international law” in response to the letter when it comes to the war in Gaza.
A reply to the staff letter was sent from senior civil servants Sir Oliver Robbins and Nick Dyer, who 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."
Sir Oliver and Mr Dyer explained they wanted to see “healthy challenge” in the Foreign Office and said there were mechanisms in place for anyone who felt uncomfortable about any policies.
But, the reply has been met with “outrage,” with one official telling the BBC that there is a “deep sense of disappointment that the space for challenge is being further shut down”.
The 16 May letter, which was shown to the BBC, 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."
The letter also listed 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".
Officials wrote that the British government’s position had contributed to “the erosion of global norms”.
It highlighted continued weapons exports and criticised a visit to London by Israel's foreign minister Gideon Sa'ar in April "despite concerns about violations of international law".
The UK government's position is that Israel is "at risk" of breaching humanitarian law. Israel has previously insisted that it operates according to international law.
But Palestinian rights groups have rejected this, citing evidence from several legal cases brought internationally.
The UK suspended around 30 out of a total of 350 licences after a review found there was a risk they could be used in violation of international humanitarian law in September.
Since then, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Israel's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant as well as the military commander of Hamas.
Israel's government has consistently rejected allegations it has committed war crimes in Gaza, calling the ICC's decision "antisemitic", while the US Department of State last week announced sanctions against four ICC judges for "transgressions against the United States and Israel".
In a statement sent to the BBC, the FCDO said the job of civil servants was to deliver on government policies and provide professional, impartial advice as set out in the Civil Service Code.
"There are systems in place which allow them to raise concerns if they have them," said the spokesperson.
They added: "Since day one, this government has rigorously applied international law in relation to the war in Gaza. One of our first acts in government was to suspend export licences that could be used by the Israeli Defence Forces in Gaza…
"We have suspended direct exports of F-35 parts for use by Israel, and we categorically do not export any bombs or ammunition which could be used in Gaza."
