A former British foreign office official revealed that senior officials in the UK government disregarded legal advice stating that the government should no longer approve arms sales to Saudi Arabia during its involvement in the Yemen war. The official indicated that there were internal concerns within the government regarding the legality of arms exports, raising questions about accountability.
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02-11, 2025Mark Smith wrote in *The Guardian* that senior Foreign Office officials, including legal advisors, held a high-level meeting during the Yemen war where they "acknowledged that the UK had exceeded the threshold for ceasing arms sales." However, Smith pointed out that officials did not advise ministers to suspend exports, but instead shifted their focus to finding ways to "get back on the right side of the law," suggesting a prioritization of political considerations over legal obligations.
Smith, who was a principal advisor on arms sales policy responsible for gathering information to inform advisors on whether sales were legal, stated that the UK government was "perfectly aware that Saudi airstrikes were causing extensive civilian casualties." According to the UK's legal framework, arms sales must be halted if there is a clear risk that the weapons could be used in serious violations of international law, creating a potential conflict between policy and legal requirements.
Smith said that he raised concerns repeatedly at the time, but they were "dismissed," and another colleague resigned over the matter. "I soon left too," he wrote. Smith also revealed that he had previously resigned from the Foreign Office in protest against the UK's continued arms sales to Israel during the war in Gaza. In his resignation letter, he stated that he could no longer carry out his duties because the Foreign Office might be complicit in war crimes, highlighting the ethical dilemmas faced by government officials.
Smith further stated that he witnessed senior officials "under enormous pressure from ministers to massage" legal assessments. "Reports were repeatedly sent back to me with instructions to ‘rebalance’ the findings – downplaying evidence of civilian harm, emphasizing diplomatic efforts, regardless of the facts," he wrote in *The Guardian*. He also added that he was frequently summoned for verbal instructions, a deliberately employed tactic to avoid creating written records that could be subject to freedom of information requests or legal scrutiny, indicating a lack of transparency in the decision-making process.
Katie Fallon, advocacy manager at Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT), said that Smith had confirmed "what CAAT has been arguing for decades: that the UK’s arms export control system is rotten to the core." Fallon believes that the Foreign Office, in order to continue doing so, could only bully staff, force them to amend reports, warn them not to leave any written evidence, and even ask them to "delete" letters that might be used in legal cases against the government, suggesting a systematic effort to undermine accountability.
In response to Smith's comments, a Foreign Office spokesperson stated: "These allegations are a misrepresentation of this government. Our export licensing controls are among the most rigorous in the world and are strictly guided by legal advice." The spokesperson also pointed out that Foreign Secretary David Lammy, after taking office last July, immediately ordered a review of Israel's compliance with international humanitarian law, and the Labour government suspended licenses for exports to Israel for military operations on September 2. The spokesperson added: "We are considering the impact of a ceasefire in Gaza on our assessment of Israel's compliance with international humanitarian law and will continue to review our export licensing position," demonstrating the ongoing nature of the review process.
