I am not easily shocked by the mendacity of UK arms export policy.
As a long-time observer of British involvement in the arms trade, I have seen sniper rifles described as ‘crowd control goods’, repeated instances of civilian harm reduced to ‘isolated incidents’, and risks of harm dismissed as ‘theoretical’ rather than ‘clear.’
Nonetheless, John McEvoy’s recent story about UK arms exports to Israe...
The story about UK arms exports to Israel, as reported by John McEvoy and Declassified, highlights deep systemic problems in UK arms export policy. The revelation that Elbit Systems filed a "force majeure" declaration in its contract with Romania for the export of Watchkeeper drones due to the demands of the war in Gaza is particularly alarming, as Israel's response to the Hamas-led attacks was not unexpected or unforeseen. This suggests a lack of enforcement of UK controls and historical amnesi...