UK: Civil servant who resigned was formerly lead author of arms assessment

The British civil servant who resigned over concerns that the government is complicit in Israeli war crimes in Gaza has said he was 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.

Diplomat Mark Smith's resignation was first reported when prominent journalist Hind Hassan posted the contents of his resignation letter on X on Friday evening. On Saturday Middle East Eye confirmed the resignation through two sources familiar with the situation.

Smith was working as a counter-terrorism official in the British embassy in Dublin before he resigned.

But he said in his resignation letter that he was a former penholder involved in the arms exports licensing assessment process in the Middle East and North African Directorate and therefore “a subject matter expert in the domain of armed sales policy”.

In a statement issued on Sunday, Smith added that he was the lead author of the central assessment governing the legality of UK arms sales in the Middle East and North Africa Directorate.

He said: “It was my job to gather all relevant information regarding civilian casualties, international law compliance as well as assess the commitment and capabilities of the countries in question.”

“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 minimize harm to civilian life. It is impossible to argue that Israel is doing that.”

It is unclear when Smith, who appears to have been at the British embassy in Dublin since at least 2022, was in this role.

Smith said he has written to Foreign Secretary David Lammy informing him of his resignation.

"I sincerely hope that he will listen to the concerns of Civil Servants on this issue and make the necessary changes."

The Foreign Office told Middle East Eye: “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 violations 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.”

Lammy said he commissioned new legal advice into Israel's compliance with international humanitarian law in its war on Gaza on his first day in office in early July.

Sources told MEE that the government planned to introduce restrictions to arms sales on the final day of parliament before summer recess last week.

Subsequent reports in the Times and Guardian suggested the decision was delayed as the government identified which UK-made weapons may have been used in Israel's war on Gaza and those used defensively, a distinction Lammy has recently drawn in comments to parliament.