- Business and Trade Committee Chair Liam Byrne concluded that he was not convinced by the Ministers’ explanation of how the exemption of F-35 jet parts from the recent suspension of around 30 arms licences to Israel, could be compatible with the UK’s legal obligations under the Arms Trade Treaty.
- Components exported from the UK for F-35 jets used by Israel in Gaza are tracked by the US, according to Minister of State for Defence Lord Coaker.
- The panel claimed the UK “loses sight” of F-35 parts when they leave the UK, and “has got no ability to influence” where they go once they are in the US system.
- The FCDO has assessed at least 413 potential violations of international humanitarian law by Israel in Gaza, yet reached the conclusion that there is insufficient information to decide either way in 411 of 413 incidents, 99.5% of cases, despite overwhelming evidence of war crimes and genocide.
- The admissions raise serious concerns about the UK’s sovereignty over its own arms export regime and international law obligations.
On 10 December, ministers and civil servants from the Department of Business and Trade, Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, and Ministry of Defence, gave oral evidence to the Business and Trade Committee on UK arms exports to Israel. None of the Secretary of States for any of these departments appeared before the Committee.
The session followed an announcement by government in September that it found Israel is not committed to complying with international humanitarian law (IHL), and there was a clear risk that UK arms exports might be used to commit serious violations of IHL. However the UK’s largest and most significant export to Israel, 15% of every F-35 jet that is dropping bombs on Gaza, was exempt despite the government confirming this is a clear risk of serious IHL violations.
In evidence, Minister of State for Defence Lord Coaker stated that when parts for the F-35 jet are exported from the UK to the US, they either go into a global pool of spare parts or the assembly programme to be part of the jet. The panel claimed the UK “loses sight” of the parts thereafter and “has got no ability to influence” where they go once they are in the US system and become property of the US. It was clarified that these parts are actively tracked by the US.
When asked why the UK had not asked the US, its close ally, to use its tracking capabilities to assure the UK that British made parts are not being used by Israel in Gaza, Lord Coaker responded that “the overall security picture for our nation and the allies that we stand with given the increased conflict” in the world requires the UK to apply the F-35 exemption. He stated that alongside the “horror” in Gaza, the UK also had to consider advice from the Secretary of State for Defence claiming that the F-35 programme “delivers peace and security in many parts of the world” and “defends our freedom”.
Lord Coaker stated that Ukraine is using the F-35 jets and it was the UK’s understanding that if they withdrew or tried to unilaterally change the “collaborative agreement” it would undermine the whole F-35 project or the UK risked being removed from the contract/collaboration.
Ahead of the session the Business and Trade Committee wrote to Lockheed Martin and BAE Systems, the primary producer of the F-35 jet and sub-contractor respectively, to provide evidence about the F-35 programme. Lockheed Martin responded the day before the evidence session that they were not authorised to release information about the programme without the approval of the Joint Programme Office, and the US Department of Defense has advised that any questions that the Committee has about the programme should be directed to the US government.
Lord Coaker stated that the UK government was not currently reviewing the F-35 exemption. The ongoing review of the IHL assessment process at the FCOD is continuing. He stated there is “no particular appetite anywhere for a change” to the advice on the F-35 exemption. “It’s been discussed at official levels, it requires international agreement with all the partner nations that are part of the F-35 international collaboration agreement. No doubt those discussions will continue…”
Chair Liam Byrne concluded the evidence session stating that he was not convinced by the Ministers’ explanation of how the exemption of F-35 parts from the recent suspension of around 30 arms licences to Israel, could be compatible with the UK’s legal obligations under the Arms Trade Treaty.
It came to light in the session that the FCDO has assessed at least 413 potential violations of international humanitarian law by Israel in Gaza. However, as of September they reached that conclusion that there is insufficient information to decide either way in 411 of 413 incidents considered, 99.5% of cases, despite the widespread evidence of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. Minister of State at the FCDO Stephen Doughty repeatedly claimed that to make a definitive judgment on these potential violations the FCDO would need information about Israel’s own targeting procedure. In effect, this would require that the FCDO receive information from Israel confirming its own crimes in order to assess that violations have definitively occurred.
When asked if data from the hundreds of RAF flights flying over Gaza could be used by the FCDO in its IHL assessments, the Minister of State for Defence stated that the purpose of these flights was to look for the hostages only, and information was not being used for that purpose.
Katie Fallon, Advocacy Manager at CAAT said:
“The indescribable hell that has been raised on Gaza by Israel for the last 14 months – unimaginable levels of death, destruction and human suffering – is apparently the price the UK government is happy to pay to appease the US into maintaining global military alliances.
“Preventing UK arms exports, specifically the F-35 jets which are dropping 2000 lb bombs on Gaza with UK-made components, from being used in war crimes by Israel against Palestinians, is in no way a threat to international security in Ukraine or elsewhere. The US is actively constructing a false dichotomy where the lives of Palestinians are pitted against the lives of other, usually white western civilians.
“Calls to halt UK complicity in Israel’s apocalyptic destruction in Gaza have been met with threats and bullying by the US – acceded to by the UK government – all with the sole aim of maintaining US military hegemony by supporting Israel’s genocide in Gaza.”
