Defence Secretary John Healey defends timing of partial ban on arms to Israel – as Priti Patel condemns ‘shocking betrayal’

Published

10 months ago

September 3, 2024

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The defence secretary has defended the timing of suspending some arms export licences to Israel following criticism from politicians, the Jewish community and Israel.

A total of 30 out of 350 export licences for UK arms to Israel are being suspended, Foreign Secretary David Lammy announced on Monday.

The timing of the announcement has been criticised as it came on the same day funerals were held for six Israelis killed over the weekend by Hamas after being held hostage since October last year.

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Defence Secretary John Healey said the decision was made now because it was the government’s “legal responsibility”.

He told Sky News’ Breakfast With Kay Burley: “This is a government that has a duty to the rule of law, faced with the conflict in Gaza, it’s our legal responsibility and obligation to review export licenses.

“The judgement was whether there is a clear risk that anything we supply from this country could be linked to a serious violation of international humanitarian law.

“And the assessment was that in the case of around 30 components for military equipment, this was the case.”

He said the move is not unprecedented, with Margaret Tatcher suspending arms exports in the 1980s and Gordon Brown doing so in 2009.

In both of those cases, when there was a ceasefire the suspensions were lifted, he added.

“That’s the bigger argument here,” he said.

“In the end, this conflict, the concerns that people have, will be settled with an immediate ceasefire.”

However, he said lifting the suspension is not dependent on a ceasefire.

He added: “If there is a change in the conflict in Gaza, where these components are no longer a risk that international humanitarian law may be breached, then these licences may be reviewed and those suspensions may be lifted.”

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The government’s decision was criticised by Israel’s defence secretary Yoav Gallant, who said he was “deeply disheartened” by the suspensions that came as Israel fights “a war on seven different fronts” and “when we mourn six hostages”.

Former Conservative home secretary Dame Priti Patel called the decision “appalling” and accused Labour of playing politics “with Israel’s security on a day they bury their dead”.

“This shocking betrayal of a key UK ally is a terrible indication of the UK’s approach to national security under this weak prime minister,” she added.

The Board of Deputies of British Jews said the timing “risks sending a dangerous message to Hamas and other adversaries of the UK that they can commit appalling atrocities – condemned by the UK government – and yet still see Israel castigated”.

The government has come under fire for other policy changes towards Israel after it restored funding to the UN agency that works with Palestinians, despite opposition from Israel.

Sir Keir Starmer has also removed the previous government’s objection to the International Criminal Court pursuing arrest warrants against Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu and his defence secretary.

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Sir Keir Starmer hits out at politicians who ‘shout and scream but do nothing’ over grooming gangs

Published

34 mins ago

June 17, 2025

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Sir Keir Starmer hits out at politicians who 'shout and scream but do nothing' over grooming gangs

Sir Keir Starmer has said he gets “frustrated” with politicians who “shout and scream but do nothing” as he defended past comments about a grooming gangs inquiry.

Speaking to Sky News’s political editor Beth Rigby, the prime minister was asked if he regretted saying in January that those calling for a national probe into paedophile rings were “jumping on a far-right bandwagon” – given he has now agreed to one.

Politics latest: Baroness Casey asks people to ‘keep calm’ about grooming gang ethnicity data

Sir Keir said he was “really clear” he was talking about the Tories, who were demanding an inquiry they never set up when they were in government.

He said: “I was calling out those politicians.

“I am frustrated with politics when people shout and scream a lot and do nothing when they’ve got the opportunity to do it. It’s one of the worst aspects of politics, in my view.”

Sir Keir also said there “must be accountability” for authorities who “shied away” from talking about the ethnicity of perpetrators for fear of being branded racist, as exposed in a report by Baroness Casey published on Monday.

Asked if he is happy for “social workers, policemen and people that failed” to be held accountable, the prime minister said: “Where the inquiry uncovers failure or wrongdoing, then there should absolutely be accountability.

“That is amongst the purposes of an inquiry, and it’s a statutory inquiry… which will therefore mean there is power to compel evidence of witnesses because it’s important that it is comprehensive and important that it gets to every single issue. And as part of that process, there’s accountability for individuals who did wrong.”

Baroness Casey was asked to produce an audit of sexual abuse carried out by grooming gangs in England and Wales in January, when comments by tech billionaire Elon Musk brought the scandal back into the spotlight.

The government initially resisted calls from the Tories for a national inquiry into grooming gangs, saying they wanted to focus on implementing the recommendations of Professor Alexis Jay’s seven-year review into child abuse.

The review concluded in 2022 but the Conservatives did not implement its recommendations before they lost the election last July.

The government’s position has changed following Baroness Casey’s audit, which recommended an inquiry.

Her report found that ethnicity data is not recorded for two-thirds of grooming gang perpetrators.

However at a local level in three police forces – Greater Manchester, South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire – “there has been a disproportionality of group-based child sexual exploitation offending by men of Asian ethnicity”.

The cross bench peer said instead of looking into whether ethnicity or cultural factors played a part, authorities “avoided the topic altogether for fear of appearing racist”, and this warranted further investigation.