The SNP has demanded the release of evidence which led the Labour Government to suspend just 30 out of 350 arms export licenses to Israel.
It follows Labour Foreign Secretary David Lammy’s decision to suspend less than 10 per cent of the total number of licenses following a review into British arms exports to Israel.
SNP Westminster Leader Stephen Flynn has called for all evidence and legal advice presented to Mr Lammy to be published.
Mr Flynn has led calls for a ceasefire in Gaza in Westminster and has called for an arms export ban to Israel.
Commenting, Stephen Flynn said:
“Today’s UK Labour Government announcement is the very definition of too little, too late.
“Suspending just 30 out of 350 – less than 10% – of UK arms licenses to Israel is far too limited a response to the scale of the crimes against humanity, which are unfolding before the watching world.
“The UK Labour Government must now immediately publish the legal advice, and all assessments, as to why 320 weapons and components continue being sent to the Israeli government – when they continue to commit horrors on the civilian population of Gaza.
“If the UK Labour Government is giving the green light for 90% of weapons and components to continue to be sold to the Israeli government – then the public deserve to know on what legal basis those decisions are being made.
“The SNP has been consistent in calling on the UK government to stop arming Israel for months, so why has it taken so long for even this smallest of action to happen and how many lives have been lost due to continued inaction?
“We reiterate our calls for an immediate and total ban on all arms exports to Israel from the UK and demanding that the UK government call on their allies to do the exact same.
“Each day the situation in Gaza gets worse and more innocent lives are lost.
“There must be an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages and an urgent path found to increase humanitarian aid in order to secure a permanent peace.”
