Warning against Israel’s genocide in Gaza and Britain’s complicity in it, former Foreign Office diplomat Mark Smith has revealed that UK’s system for controlling arms exports is fundamentally broken and enables war crimes.
In a powerful exposé for the Guardian, Smith, who resigned in August 2024, details how ministers manipulate legal frameworks to shield “friendly nations” from accountability. As a lead advisor on arms sales policy, he witnessed conduct that “crossed the threshold into complicity with war crimes” and raises the urgent question of Britain’s response as US President Donald Trump proposes the ethnic cleansing of Gaza. Genocide scholars have blasted Trump’s Gaza plan as “Classic genocidal white man’s colonialism.”
The former Middle East desk specialist describes systematic dysfunction that allows the government to perpetuate war crimes while evading scrutiny. His role involved gathering information on foreign governments’ military conduct, particularly regarding civilian casualties and adherence to international humanitarian law. However, he witnessed senior officials, under intense ministerial pressure, routinely skew legal assessments and edit reports to downplay evidence of civilian casualties.
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