Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Trump: Technical teams will meet again on Monday in Egypt to discuss and clarify the final details, and the first phase is scheduled to be completed this week
US President Donald Trump: Talks with Hamas have been very successful and are moving at a rapid pace
Local sources in Aleppo: Violent clashes erupt between the SDF and factions affiliated with the transitional authority on the Deir Hafer and Tishrin Dam fronts in the eastern Aleppo countryside
Israeli media: Interceptor missiles fired in an attempt to shoot down the drone
IOF Spokesperson: Sirens sounded amid suspected "enemy aircraft" infiltrating the Eilat area
Israeli media: "Israel" won the battle but lost the war strategically and politically
Israeli media: Ben Gurion Airport's airspace closed to air traffic following missile launch from Yemen
Israeli media: Echoes of several explosions heard in central occupied territories
United States: A federal judge temporarily blocks President Donald Trump from deploying 200 Oregon National Guard troops to Portland
Syria: Local sources for Al-Mayadeen: An IOF patrol consisting of 4 vehicles entered the village of Suissa in the southern countryside of Quneitra

UK government refuses to go public with legal advice on Israeli crimes

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: The Observer + The Guardian
  • 31 Mar 2024 21:19
  • 2 Shares
3 Min Read

A leaked audio has revealed that the British government received legal advice on actual Israeli breaches of international law.

  • x
  • UK government refuses to go public with legal advice on Israeli crimes
    Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, right, and David Cameron, the Foreign Secretary, left, walk across the Horse Guards parade for the Ceremonial Welcome by King Charles and Queen Camilla for the President of Korea Yoon Suk Yeol and First Lady, Kim Keon Hee, in London, the United Kingdom, on November 21, 2023. (AP)

The British government received legal advice from its lawyers who said that "Israel" is breaking international law, according to a leaked recording.  

"Israel" breached international humanitarian law in the Gaza Strip, lawyers told the government, however, UK authorities failed to make the statement public. 

The recording was obtained by The Observer, a sister newspaper of The Guardian. 

The Chair of the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee, Alicia Kearns, stated at a Conservative Party fundraiser on March 13 that if such legal advice is adopted, the UK government would be mandated to suspend all arms sales to "Israel".

According to The Guardian, Kearns stood by the comments she made in the leaked audio and said that she believes that the government has concluded that "Israel" is not demonstrating a commitment to international humanitarian law, "which is the legal determination it has to make."

Related News

12 martyrs in Gaza since dawn, death toll rises to 67,139

Majority of American Jews say 'Israel' committed war crimes in Gaza

In fact, if the UK does recognize that "Israel" is in breach of IHL and does not take the appropriate measures, Britain itself would be in breach of IHL for arming the Israeli occupation forces. The revelation will further pressure Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Foreign Secretary David Cameron to revise their staunch support for "Israel" and its war on Gaza. 

"Countries supplying arms to Israel may now be complicit in criminal warfare. The public should be told what the advice says," said British barrister and judge Geoffrey Nice, who was the lead prosecutor at former Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic’s trial from 2002 to 2006.

Read more: 100+ Britons in Israeli forces, illegal settlements: Declassified UK

Labour shadow minister presses Cameron on legal advice

Earlier in March, UK Prime Minister David Cameron was pressed by the shadow UK foreign secretary, David Lammy, to publish the Foreign Office formal legal advice on whether "Israel" is breaching international humanitarian law in Gaza after two human rights groups were permitted an oral hearing to seek a judicial review of the government’s refusal to ban arms exports to "Israel".

"Given the gravity of the situation in Gaza, the degree of public and parliamentary interest and the risks to the credibility of the UK’s export controls regime, there is a compelling case to publish the government’s legal advice," Lammy wrote in a letter to Cameron, adding that licenses for arms exports should not be granted if "there is a clear risk that the items might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law."

It is worth mentioning that the Labour Party, the main opposition in the UK parliament, has adopted quite a similar policy on "Israel" and has even punished some of its members for criticizing the Israeli occupation. 

Read more: Israeli spox Eylon Levy, suspended by Netanyahu's office, steps down

  • genocide in Gaza
  • IHL
  • Israel
  • Israeli occupation forces
  • Rishi Sunak
  • Israeli war crimes
  • United Kingdom
  • international humanitarian law
  • David Cameron
War on Gaza

War on Gaza

Most Read

Hamas fighters stand in formation ahead of a ceremony to hand over Israeli captives to the Red Cross in Nuseirat, Gaza Strip, Feb. 22, 2025. (AP)

Hamas reviews Trump’s Gaza ceasefire plan as PIJ rejects

  • Palestine
  • 30 Sep 2025
Iraq at a crossroads: A new war front?

Iraq at a crossroads: A new war front?

  • West Asia
  • 30 Sep 2025
A Hamas fighter in combat fatigues stands before the ceremony for the handover of Israeli captives to the Red Cross in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip, Saturday, February 22, 2025 (AP)

Hamas responds to Trump plan, backs Gaza withdrawal, exchange

  • Politics
  • 3 Oct 2025
Tucker Carlson speaks at a memorial for Charlie Kirk, Sunday, September 21, 2025, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona (AP)

Tucker Carlson: Israeli officers gave orders on Iran inside Pentagon

  • Politics
  • 2 Oct 2025

Coverage

All
War on Gaza

Read Next

All
French far-left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon, listens to France Unbowed party parliament member Mathilde Panot during a demonstration after a Gaza-bound aid flotilla was illegally raided by the IOF, Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025 in Paris (AP)
Politics

French MPs on hunger strike after their detainment in 'Israel'

Gaza residents fear trap as Trump’s plan offers little relief
Politics

Flying promises and bombs: Gazans hopeful, yet deeply distrustful

Two years of destruction: Gaza endures war, famine, and displacement
Politics

UNRWA details Gaza's two years under war, famine, and displacement

In this photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, visits a military hardware exhibition in Pyongyang, Notrh Korea Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025 (AP)
Politics

DPRK's Kim unveils new advanced weapons at 'Defiance Development 2025'

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS