Foreign Office staff have been bluntly told to quit by their superiors if they are unhappy with government policy over Gaza. Last month, more than 300 civil servants at the department wrote a letter to the Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, outlining their concerns.
In particular, they questioned the UK’s continuing arms sales to Israel and what they described as Benjamin Netanyahu’s government’s “stark disregard” for international law. Sir Oliver Robbins and Nick Dyer, the two most senior civil servants in the Foreign Office, drafted a reply to the letter.
They told the signatories that the UK Government “rigorously applied international law” in relation to the war in Gaza and that if they were unhappy, then the honourable thing to do was to quit.
“[I]f your disagreement with any aspect of government policy or action is profound your ultimate recourse is to resign from the Civil Service. This is an honourable course,” they wrote.
The reply provoked “outrage’ among staff, one official who signed the letter told the BBC.
They claimed the department was trying to stamp out dissent among staff.
The May 16 letter was at least the fourth such document sent by staff to ministers and Foreign Office managers since 2023.
Staff have raised their concerns over the scale of the civilian death toll in Gaza, Israel’s restrictions on aid supply and Israeli settlement expansion and settler violence in the occupied West Bank, among other issues.
There are concerns among some civil servants that they may be drawn into any future legal challenges against the government over its Gaza policies.
The letter said: “In July 2024, staff expressed concern about Israel’s violations of international humanitarian law and potential UK government complicity.
“In the intervening period, the reality of Israel’s disregard for international law has become more stark.”
In a statement, the FCDO said the job of civil servants was to deliver on government policies and provide professional, impartial advice as set out in the Civil Service Code.
“There are systems in place which allow them to raise concerns if they have them,” said the spokesperson.
They added: “Since day one, this Government has rigorously applied international law in relation to the war in Gaza. One of our first acts in Government was to suspend export licences that could be used by the Israeli Defence Forces in Gaza…
“We have suspended direct exports of F-35 parts for use by Israel, and we categorically do not export any bombs or ammunition which could be used in Gaza.”