A group of over 60 parliamentarians have written to the government demanding an investigation into illegal military transfers from the UK to Israel.
The letter to the Department for Business and Trade, authored by Steve Witherden MP on 15 June, asks the UK authorities to explain how an illegal transfer of arms to Israel was exported from Britain.
Signed by MPs and Lords from across the political spectrum, it references a military shipment bound for Israel, which was seized in Belgium. Significantly, the letter was also signed by Foreign Affairs Select Committee member, Abtisam Mohamed MP.
The seizure came after a team of journalists and campaign groups discovered a suspicious package of UK military components bound for Israel in March this year.
The investigative team notified the Walloon government that the transfer did not carry the requisite transit licence to Israel, prompting the authorities to seize it at Liège Airport.
Belgium would have refused to issue a transit license due to its policy on arms exports to Israel. It has since opened a criminal investigation into the transfer.
The government of the Walloon region confirmed that the illegal shipment to Israel contained items covered by UK export codes for military aircraft and fire control components.
The components are believed to belong to US firm, Moog, which manufactures trainer aircraft components for the Israeli air force, and has a factory in Wolverhampton.
In a development related to Moog, yesterday a Birmingham crown court jury failed to reach a verdict on whether four Palestine human rights defenders committed criminal damage at the company’s Wolverhampton factory. The activists’ stated goal was to disrupt the supply of UK-made fighter jet components to Israel.
The letter to Peter Kyle MP from the 60+ parliamentarians also asks him to subject the responsible arms firms and logistics companies to export control compliance checks.
In the case of logistics companies, Challenge Airlines and UPS, it also queries whether they will be excluded from public procurement processes in the event of non-compliance.
In a separate letter, sent a month prior, a group of campaign and investigative research groups wrote to the Chair of the Business and Trade Sub-Committee on Economic Security, Arms and Export Controls, Liam Byrne MP.
Led by Amnesty International, the group – which included Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) – asked Byrne to seek urgent clarification from Secretary of State for Business and Trade, Peter Kyle MP on ten points relating to the UK’s export control regime, and the illegal shipment.
Dated 8 May, the letter argues that the Belgian case raises serious questions for UK export-control policy and oversight, particularly where exports are made to Israel and other sensitive destinations under Open Individual Export Licences.
Commenting, Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) Research Coordinator, Sam Perlo-Freeman said:
“Pressure is mounting on the Department for Business and Trade to urgently address questions about UK export-control policy and oversight, particularly where exports are made to Israel and other sensitive destinations under Open Individual Export Licences.
“The question here is not just whether a UK export licence existed at the point of export, but whether the UK export control system is even adequate when UK-licensed military goods can be routed through allies in apparent breach of their export control laws.
“Moreover, it appears that there is no clear UK mechanism to prevent, detect, review or sanction such breaches once they become known. As such, and without clarification from the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, the current system seems vastly inadequate to ensure effective control.
“As we approach a fourth year of Israeli genocide in Gaza, Britain must urgently act to tighten its export control regime, ensure its shipments via third countries are compliant, and ultimately take action end all weapon sales to Israel.”
