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
Tsunami waves reach Hawaii, calls for emergency measures to protect lives and property.
NHK: Japan records 1.3-meter tsunami.
Russian mayor of northern Kuril Islands says 'everyone' on tsunami-hit islands evacuated.
Israeli media: Take-offs and landings halted at Ben Gurion Airport.
Israeli media: Air raid sirens sound in the central region after a missile was identified from Yemen.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: 3 families were wiped out from the civil registry due to the occupation's massacre in Nuseirat
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: 14 women and 12 children were killed in the Israeli occupation's massacre in the new camp in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip
10-year-old Palestinian child Nour Abu Sala'a was killed by malnutrition due to the Israeli occupation's siege on the Gaza Strip
Trump says a ceasefire in Gaza is 'possible'
European Union commissioners will discuss a proposal to partially suspend Israeli participation in the EU's Horizon research program: Reuters

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

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: The Observer + The Guardian
  • 31 Mar 2024 22:19
  • 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

Israeli-made conditions in Gaza are worse than Nazi camps: Erdogan

Yemen targets Ben Gurion Airport in defense of 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

Given ample indications Epstein was collating sexual blackmail material on powerful figures for intelligence agencies, comments made by Mirage's cofounder to Ynet take on a chilling character. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)

Zionist spies innovate AI sexual blackmail tech

  • Analysis
  • 27 Jul 2025
The right wing love affair with Zionism has ended

The right wing love affair with Zionism has ended

  • Opinion
  • 23 Jul 2025
Houthi supporters display a giant Palestinian flag during a weekly anti-US and anti-'Israel' rally in Sanaa, Yemen, Friday March, 28, 2025 (AP)

Open borders so Yemenis march by hundreds of thousands: Al-Houthi

  • Politics
  • 24 Jul 2025
Lebanese Freedom Fighter Georges Abdallah, who was serving a life in Paris, speaks to supporters upon his arrival at Beirut's Rafik Hariri International Airport in Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, July 25, 2025 (AP)

With resistance, road home is never lost: Georges Abdallah from Beirut

  • Politics
  • 25 Jul 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
Lawmakers attend a session of the Knesset, Israel's parliament, in occupied al-Quds, Monday, July 14, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Tensions erupt between Smotrich and army chief over Gaza strategy

The spokesperson for the Yemeni Armed Forces, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, giving a statement on Tuesday, July 29, 2025 (Yemeni Military Media)
Politics

Yemen targets Ben Gurion Airport in defense of Gaza

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar arrives for the EU-Southern Neighbourhood ministerial meeting at the EU Council building in Brussels, Monday, July 14, 2025. (AP)
Politics

'Israel' summons Dutch ambassador over Amsterdam's ban on ministers

Palestinians collect aid that landed in the Mediterranean Sea after being airdropped over central Gaza, at the shore of Zawaida, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, July 29, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Israeli plans to annex Gaza illegal under international law: Norway

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