https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/frankly-shameful
Khadija Abu Rabi mourns over the body of her son, Iyad, 3, who was killed by an Israeli strike that hit tents sheltering displaced people along the coast of Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, February 2, 2026Campaigners and MPs concerned by moves to ‘unblock’ arms licences to Israel
BRITAIN’S politicians have written to the Trade Secretary over serious concerns about a reported move towards “unblocking” arms licences to Israel, campaigners said yesterday.
In the letter, led by Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr MP Steve Witherden, 58 parliamentarians told Peter Kyle that they were “extremely concerned” by the government’s apparent move towards lifting the arms licences to Israel that it suspended in September 2024, and the reported transfer of new F-35 fighter jets from a British air base.
Last month, in an interview with the Jewish Chronicle, Mr Kyle said he would revisit Britain-Israel trade talks and the decision to pause arms export licences, arguing that the two issues were “intrinsically linked.”
But campaigners said that position was at odds with the government’s legal obligation to issue or suspend arms export licences in line with Britain’s domestic Strategic Export Licensing Criteria and its international obligations, including under the Genocide Convention.
Alongside a continued supply of spare parts for F-35 jets used in Israel’s bombardment of Gaza, research indicates that Britain has played a key role in facilitating the transfer of the aircraft to Israel.
On January 21, it was reported that three new F-35s were transferred from the British air base RAF Mildenhall to Israel.
This was despite the government’s earlier acknowledgement that Israel was not committed to complying with international humanitarian law and suspended 29 of 350 arms licences to the country.
The partial ban included what has been described as an “F-35 carve-out,” allowing exemptions of components supplied through the global F-35 programme from the suspension.
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