Diplomat who quit over Gaza complicity urges UK to stop trading 'human lives for political expediency'

Mark Smith, a former British diplomat and policy adviser who resigned last year over “complicity” in war crimes in Gaza, has urged his former colleagues in charge of overseeing British arms sales to stop the government from trading “human lives for political expediency.”

Smith, who worked in the Middle East directorate of the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), was responsible for ensuring that British arms sales followed legal and ethical standards.

In August 2024, he decided to quit his post after the government refused to stop selling arms to Israel, despite the ongoing bombardment of Gaza that resulted in numerous civilian casualties.

In an article published by the Guardian on Monday, Smith raises serious concerns over UK arms sales to Israel, especially during the genocide in Gaza, citing “complicity” in war crimes as the reason behind his resignation. 

He says he witnessed illegality and complicity with war crimes within the British government as ministers often manipulated legal frameworks to shield “friendly” regimes from accountability, allowing serious violations of international law to occur.

After his resignation, the new Labour government announced a suspension of arms sales to Israel. But Smith argues this action came too late, as Israel has continued to “commit atrocities in Gaza as the UK stands by, unwilling to act.”

The public deserves transparency about how such decisions are made behind closed doors, he says.

During his career, Smith says he observed how officials were pressured to alter reports and downplay evidence of civilian harm when approving foreign arms sales. He recalls instances where he was instructed to change findings to create a more favorable narrative for the government.

Senior British diplomat quits in protest against UK’s arms sales to Israel

A UK Foreign Office diplomat has resigned over the country’s continued arms sales to Israel.

“What I witnessed was not just moral failure but conduct that I believe crossed the threshold into complicity with war crimes,” he writes.  

One significant example involved arms sales to Saudi Arabia amid its military offensive in Yemen. Despite acknowledging the high civilian casualties caused by Saudi airstrikes, Smith says British officials sought ways to continue arms sales to the oil-rich kingdom, including through “delaying tactics” and finding ways to “get back on the right side” of the law.

A judicial review brought by civil society organizations ultimately forced a suspension of arms sales to Saudi Arabia. “But instead of learning from this failure, the government responded by changing the law to make it harder to challenge arms exports in court. A year later, arms sales to Saudi Arabia resumed,” Smith points out.

Smith argues that the situation with arms sales to Israel has been even more alarming. He notes that the UK government continued to justify the weapons transfers even as Israeli bombings resulted in widespread destruction and civilian deaths in Gaza.

“Yet the UK government continued to justify arms sales to Israel, relying on the same flawed processes and evasive tactics,” he says.

The former diplomat calls for greater transparency and accountability in the UK’s arms export policies, urging his former colleagues to uphold ethical standards and refuse to be complicit in actions that violate human rights.

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