An honourable course: UK civil servants told to consider quitting if upset at Gaza policy

Civil servants at the British Foreign Office have expressed anger after being told to consider resigning if they disagree with government policy on Gaza.

More than 300 Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) staff sent a letter to Foreign Secretary David Lammy last month raising concerns about potential UK "complicity" in Israel's assault on the enclave.

In a letter first reported by Novara Media, senior officials responded saying that the department had a system for staff concerns and had "rigorously applied international law" with regards to Gaza.

"[If] your disagreement with any aspect of government policy or action is profound your ultimate recourse is to resign from the Civil Service," said the reply to the staff letter, sent from Sir Oliver Robbins and Nick Dyer, the two most senior civil servants in the Foreign Office.

"This is an honourable course."

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One of the officials who signed the original letter said there had been "outrage" among staff at the response.

"[There is] frustration and a deep sense of disappointment that the space for challenge is being further shut down," said the official, speaking to the BBC on condition of anonymity.

Another former official who saw the correspondence described the response as "obfuscation".

"This… simply provides the government with supposed 'plausible deniability' for enabling breaches of international law," they said.

Last year, a former aid civil servant told Declassified UK that he had been told that as many as 300 staff in the Foreign Office had formally raised concerns over Britain's complicity and support for Israel's war.

The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), which represents British civil servants, also requested a meeting with the Cabinet Office over the war in Gaza and its implication for government employees.

The new letter, released on 16 May, referenced last year's complaints.

"In July 2024, staff expressed concern about Israel's violations of international humanitarian law and potential UK government complicity," it said.

"In the intervening period, the reality of Israel's disregard for international law has become more stark."

It said the UK government's continued weapons exports to Israel had contributed to "the erosion of global norms", also a citing a visit to London in April by Israel's foreign minister, Gideon Sa'ar, "despite concerns about violations of international law".

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