A union representing almost 200,000 civil servants has urged the government to stop them from doing work which “enables potential acts of genocide” by Israel.
The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), made the recommendation in a letter to Cabinet Office permanent secretary Cat Little last Friday.
The letter comes after two senior officials at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) suggested civil servants concerned about the morality and legality of the government’s collaboration with Israel can resign if “in disagreement with any aspect of government policy”, and added this would be an “honourable course” – a suggestion the PCS called “dismissive and inadequate”.
PCS general secretary Fran Heathcote said: “PCS is extremely concerned that the government continues to ignore our members’ concerns that they may be held liable under international law for the war crimes being committed daily by the state of Israel.
“It is time for the UK government to wake up and listen to its own workers.”
All civil servants are bound by the Civil Service Code, which outlines the core values and standards of behaviour expected in the Civil Service.
Those are integrity, honesty, objectivity and impartiality, and civil servants are expected “at all times to respect the law”.
The PCS argued the government may be putting UK civil servants, particularly those working in the FCDO on export licences, at risk of liability and placing them in a position of conflict given their obligations under the Civil Service Code.
Heathcote said: “We believe that the UK government has an obligation not only to rhetorically condemn some of these acts, but to prevent them all from happening in the first place.
“A good start would be to stop all work within the civil service and its related areas which in any way potentially enables acts of genocide.”
An FCDO spokesperson said: “Since day one, this government has rigorously applied international law in relation to the war in Gaza.
“One of our first acts in government was to suspend export licences that could be used by the Israeli Defence Forces in Gaza.
“We have successfully implemented the suspension decision and continue to refuse all relevant licence applications.”
Export licensing data released last month showed the government approved licences for £127.6 million worth of military equipment to Israel between October to December 2024, which is more than the total value of licences from 2020 to 2023 combined.
The government continues to issue licences for F-35 parts to Israel, an act it justified last month as “exceptional measures” taken in order to not undermine American confidence in the UK and NATO while defending itself in a High Court case brought by Palestinian human rights group Al-Haq and the Global Legal Action Network, with support from Amnesty International, Oxfam and Human Rights Watch (HRW).
A government spokesperson said: “It is the job of civil servants to deliver on the policies of the government of the day and to provide professional, impartial advice as set out in the Civil Service Code.
“As you’d expect, there are systems in place which allow them to raise concerns if they have them, and these were set out in the response to the letter in question.”
However, Heathcote was unimpressed with the government’s approach.
She said: “Confused messaging from the government has only made matters worse, taking the UK from a position of unconditional support for the actions of the Israeli state to one of veiled criticism.
“Civil servants must be able to clearly understand what the government’s position is if they are to fulfil their roles and obligations.”
Feature image: Free to use from Unsplash
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