London – Saba:
More than 300 employees at the British Foreign Office sent a letter to Minister David Lammy, expressing their deep concern about Britain's possible "complicity" in violations committed by the Israeli entity in the Gaza Strip.
The BBC revealed on Tuesday that the employees, in their letter sent last May, criticized the continued British arms exports to Israel and its blatant disregard for international law.
The network said that senior officials at the ministry responded to the letter by affirming that those who "deeply disagree" with the government's policies could opt for resignation as an "honorable course of action." This sparked widespread anger among employees, who viewed the response as a closure of space for discussion and expression of concern.
This response was met with "anger," according to one of the officials who signed the letter.
The network quoted the official, who requested anonymity, as saying: "There is deep frustration and disappointment at the increasingly narrowing space for objection."
The BBC reported that the letter, which it has seen, was written on May 16 and signed by employees representing a wide range of departments and offices in London and abroad, including embassies and diplomatic missions.
The signatories expressed growing concerns that their implementation of current government policies could lead to future legal liabilities, especially if the UK is proven to be in breach of its international obligations.
New documents have revealed that British company Bermuda Industries has sent 16 shipments of "storage containers" weighing more than 100 tons to Elbit Systems in Israel since October 2023, raising concerns about UK arms export controls as the genocide in Gaza continues.
This information about shipping documents was reported by the British websites Declassified and Detach, stating that an engineering company in Durham sent more than 1,000 ammunition containers to Israel.
This revelation raises the possibility that the Bermud containers were used to facilitate war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza, reflecting more serious loopholes in UK arms export regulations.
Declassified previously revealed that drone engines and their tripods for mounting weapons were exempt from UK trade sanctions imposed on Israel.
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