British diplomat resigns over arms sales to Israel

A British diplomat based in Ireland resigned over arms sales to Israel with his email circulated online saying the UK’s foreign office “may be complicit in war crimes,” it emerged Monday.

Images of his resignation email sent to colleagues were posted online, with Mark Smith, who was based in the British embassy in Dublin, writing there was “no justification for the UK’s continued arms sales to Israel.”

Smith, who describes himself as an expert in arms sales policy, was a second secretary dealing with “counter terror,” a relatively junior position in the foreign office (FCDO).

Issuing a follow-up statement, Smith said he had “written to the foreign secretary informing him of my resignation and urging him to urgently review the UK approach to the situation in Gaza,” according to the BBC on Monday.

“Each day we witness clear and unquestionable examples of war crimes and breaches of international humanitarian law in Gaza perpetrated by the State of Israel,” Smith wrote in the resignation email.

He said concerns regarding the legality of arms sales that he raised “at every level” of the FCDO were “disregarded,” and accused the UK government of failing to have a “robust and transparent” arms exports licensing regime.


AFP