Did my MP call for the UK to stop selling arms to Israel? Rishi Sunak under pressure after aid worker deaths

Find out if your MP signed a letter calling on the government to end arms sales to Israel.

By Ralph Blackburn

3rd Apr 2024, 5:58pm

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Rishi Sunak is under increasing pressure to suspend arms sales to Israel after the deaths of three British aid workers in Gaza.

Aid organisation World Central Kitchen (WCK) confirmed British victims John Chapman, 57, James “Jim” Henderson, 33, and James Kirby, 47, who were working for the charity’s security team, were among seven of its staff killed when their convoy was struck after unloading food. The incident has prompted condemnation from the UK and its allies.

Around 30,000 people are believed to have been killed, the vast majority Palestinian, in a war which started following Hamas’ attacks on 7 October 2023. The bloody conflict tragically shows no signs of ending.

The SNP has said MPs should return to the House of Commons early from their Easter break to “debate and vote on ending arms sales to Israel”. Stephen Flynn, the nationalists’ Westminster leader has written to Sunak, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, and Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle, calling for an immediate recall of Parliament.

He wrote: “This situation demands that the Prime Minister comes to Parliament without further delay to outline the UK Government’s response to the killing of UK citizens by Israel, to enable MPs to scrutinise the UK Government’s response, and so that Parliament can finally debate and vote on ending arms sales to Israel.”

Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey also called on Sunak to suspend arms sales to Israel. He said: “The deaths of these British aid workers in Gaza is an absolute disgrace. These brave people were trying to help starving families in Gaza. Clearly, the thought that British-made arms could have been used in strikes such as these is completely unacceptable.”

While Labour has called on the government to suspend arms sales if Israel has been found to breach humanitarian law. Shadow Foreign Secretary David Lammy said: “Our deepest sympathies go out to the families of the three heroic Brits who put their lives on the line to get Palestinian civilians the aid they desperately need. But Israel must face serious consequences, not just tough rhetoric, for their appalling deaths.

“It's totally wrong that the Foreign Secretary has gone silent on the question of whether or not Israel is complying with international humanitarian law, after saying he'd get new advice nearly a month ago. There are very serious accusations that Israel has breached international law, which must be taken into account.

“The law is clear. British arms licences cannot be granted if there is a clear risk that the items might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law.”

However Sunak refused to suspend arms sales, despite the increasing pressure. Speaking to the Sun’s Never Mind the Ballots show, he said: “I think we’ve always had a very careful export licensing regime that we adhere to.

“There are a set of rules, regulations and procedures that we’ll always follow, and I have been consistently clear with Prime Minister Netanyahu since the start of this conflict that while of course we defend Israel’s right to defend itself and its people against attacks from Hamas, they have to do that in accordance with international humanitarian law, protect civilian lives and, sadly, too many civilians have already lost their lives.

“Get more aid into Gaza. That’s what we’ve consistently called for and what we want to see actually is an immediate humanitarian pause to allow more aid in, and crucially the hostages to be released, and that’s what we’ll continue to push for.”

More than 130 MPs sign letter calling for arms suspension

Last week, before the Israeli strike which killed three British aid workers, more than 130 MPs signed a letter to the Foreign Office and Department for Business and Trade calling for the government to end arms sales to Israel. Penned by Labour MP Zarah Sultana, the letter said: “We write as cross-party parliamentarians calling on you to immediately suspend export licences for arms transfers to Israel. The case for this is overwhelming.

“More than 32,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s assault, 70% women and children. Israel bombing has destroyed or severely damaged up to 80% of civilian infrastructure.”

The MPs say that “business as usual” for arms exports to Israel is “totally unacceptable”. They say they’re concerned that UK-made weapons are being used on Gaza, and highlighted previous administrations which did suspend arms sales to Israel. George Galloway, who said his by-election win was “for Gaza”, had not signed the letter.

Did my MP sign the letter calling to suspend arms sales to Israel?

These are the MPs who signed Zarah Sultana’s letter calling on the UK government to suspend arms sales to Israel:

Ralph Blackburn is NationalWorld’s politics editor based in Westminster, where he gets special access to Parliament, MPs and government briefings. If you liked this article you can follow Ralph on X (Twitter) here and sign up to his free weekly newsletter Politics Uncovered, which brings you the latest analysis and gossip from Westminster every Sunday morning.

Israel Israel-Gaza Gaza Ed Davey Keir Starmer Rishi Sunak

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