Foreign Office whistleblower’s testimony shows UK government is rotten to the core

The testimony of Mark Smith, former diplomat and policy adviser at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, published in the Guardian on 10 February 2025, confirms exactly what Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) has argued for decades: the UK’s arms export control system is rotten to its core.

Mark Smith exposed a system rotten to the core

Mark Smith’s testimony raises fundamental questions about why the system works in this way and why successive governments have bent over backwards to justify selling arms despite knowing they’ll be used to commit or facilitate horrific war crimes. CAAT argues that the answer lies in the power and influence of the arms trade.

In August 2024, Smith resigned over the UK government’s refusal to halt arms sales to Israel amid the bombardment of Gaza, following a year of internal lobbying and whistleblowing.

As an official responsible for assessing Saudi Arabia’s compliance with International Humanitarian law (IHL) in Yemen, Mark Smith was repeatedly told to revise or “rebalance” his reports to make them less damning of Saudi’s conduct, and to give an appearance of “progress”.

Officials were told to delete correspondence that gave a more negative picture. Ministers employed delaying tactics and repeated requests for “more evidence”, even when the picture of serious violations was clear.

CAAT’s 2024 report on political influence revealed the disturbing level of access and influence the arms industry has on the UK government. This included BAE Systems having more meetings with ministers, and more with prime ministers, than any other private company.

On average, between 2009-19, senior government officials and ministers met with their arms industry counterparts 1.64 times a day. This level of influence buys government complicity and makes a mockery of international law in order to safeguard arms dealers’ profits.

Racism and colonialism in action

CAAT further argues that underpinning this is the racism and colonialism that is still at the heart of UK foreign policy. It doesn’t matter if this means arming human rights abusing dictators and genocidal regimes – and it doesn’t matter if Black and Brown people are murdered with UK supplied weapons and parts – if this helps pursue a supposed ‘stability’ that promotes US/UK interests.

CAAT’s media coordinator Emily Apple said:

Thousands of campaigners across the UK have been vindicated, but it’s too late for tens of thousands of Palestinian and Yemeni people killed with weapons and components exported from the UK.

Successive governments have manipulated evidence to knowingly and willingly facilitate war crimes and genocide to safeguard arms dealers’ profits. This has to stop.  This has to be the wake up call to take action, reduce the power of the arms trade lobby, and demand a systemic change in our arms export licensing system.

Featured image via the Canary