UK Official Resigned: ‘Israel’ Perpetrating War Crimes in Plain Sight

By Staff, Agencies

The British civil servant Mark Smith, who resigned over concerns the government is complicit in war crimes due to its continued arms sales to “Israel”, said on Monday that the “Israeli” military is committing atrocities “flagrantly, openly and regularly”.

“What we can see is appalling acts of violence perpetrated on civilians, on civilian property,” formerly the lead author of the central assessment governing the legality of UK arms sales in the Foreign Office's Middle East and North Africa directorate said in an interview with BBC Radio 4.

He further added: “It’s actually quite clear, even from what you can see in open source... ‘Israel’ is perpetrating war crimes in plain sight.”

“Anybody who has a basic understanding of these things can see that there are war crimes being committed not once, not twice, not a few times, but quite flagrantly and openly and regularly.”

When asked if he had raised the issue internally, Smith responded that he done so “at pretty much every level”, including with Foreign Secretary David Lammy.

“That's my duty and that would be quite normal for public servants, we're are very used to upholding the law,” he added, noting “We would normally raise things internally that we might have a question over, particularly if we have subject matter specialism, as I do.”

But he said he received an “unsatisfactory” response, prompting his resignation.

In his leaked resignation letter, which was first reported by Hind Hassan on X, Smith said that after raising his concerns in the department, including through a whistleblowing investigation, he received nothing more than “thank you we have noted your concern”.

In his letter, Smith said this disregard “is deeply troubling. It is my duty as a public servant to raise this,” and called for other officials “to join the many colleagues who have also raised concerns over this issue”.

In July, the Public and Commercial Services Union [PCS], which represents British civil servants, requested a meeting with the Cabinet Office over the war in Gaza and its implication for government employees.

On his first day in office, Foreign Secretary David Lammy said he had requested a comprehensive review of “Israel’s” compliance with international humanitarian law.