Mark Smith, a former UK diplomat, criticized the country’s arms export control system as fundamentally broken and politically manipulated. In his account, he asserts that officials faced pressure to alter findings on the misuse of UK arms, with serious implications concerning potential complicity in war crimes. He called for transparency regarding decision-making processes and raised concerns over a culture of silence within the Foreign Office, exacerbated by measures designed to prevent scrutiny. Though primarily addressing Conservative actions, he also criticized Labour for inaction following a recent arms export ban to Israel amidst ongoing war crimes allegations.
Mark Smith emphasized that the current arms export control system in the UK is broken, subjected to political manipulation and complicity in war crimes.
He described the systemic dysfunction within the Foreign Office which enables harm while the government avoids scrutiny, indicating a serious moral failure.
Smith lamented on the bullying and stonewalling of whistleblowers. He asserted that the manipulative processes force officials to yield to politically convenient outcomes.
Despite criticizing the Conservative government's actions, he highlighted Labour's inaction after a recent ban on arms exports to Israel, while they still allow complicity.
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