British diplomat resigns saying UK may be complicit in war crimes over arms sales to Israel

Foreign Office official resigns saying Israel has not done enough to safeguard civilian life in Gaza

A British Foreign Office official has resigned in protest at the continued arms sales to Israel by the UK.

Mark Smith, a counterterrorism official based in the British embassy in Dublin, said he can no longer “in good conscience continue to work with a government which is complicit in war crimes”.

In a statement following his resignation, issued on Sunday, Mr Smith said he had worked as a policy advisor in the Middle East and North Africa department for most of his career.

He added that he was “the lead author of the central assessment which governs the legality of arms sales” in that department, where it was his job to assess international law compliance and information about civilian casualties.

In the statement, issued through media organisation Neon, Mr Smith said: “To export arms to any nation, the UK must be satisfied that the recipient nation has in place robust procedures to avoid civilian casualties and to minimise harm to civilian life. It is impossible to argue that Israel is doing that.”

He said he had written to foreign secretary David Lammy to inform him of his resignation from the Foreign Office and urged him to urgently review the UK’s approach to Gaza.

People mourn next to the bodies of Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Gaza on Sunday (Reuters)

He added: “Since Israel’s invasion of Gaza in October 2023 I have had grave concerns about the conduct of the war and the UK’s compliance not only with international law but with the UK’s own domestic arms sales legislation. I am also opposed to the UK’s tacit support of Israel’s occupation of Palestine.”

He said he joined the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) because he was “passionate about serving my country” but that he could not continue to work for the government.

An FCDO spokesperson said: “This government is committed to upholding international law. We have made clear that we will not export items if they might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of International Humanitarian Law.

“There is an ongoing review process to assess whether Israel is complying with International Humanitarian Law, which the foreign secretary initiated on day one in office. We will provide an update as soon as that review process has been completed.”

His resignation was first revealed by journalist Hind Hassan, who published Mr Smith’s resignation letter on X, formerly Twitter, on Friday.

In the email, he claimed that, despite raising his concerns “at every level in the organisation”, no one in the Foreign Office had taken sufficient action.

The BBC, which saw the email, reported that it was sent to a wide set of distribution lists including embassy staff, government officials and special advisors to Foreign Office ministers.

Mr Smith has been working as a second secretary at the British embassy in Dublin since at least 2022, when he is listed on an employee register.