Rishi Sunak must take a warning from hundreds of lawyers about suspending arms sales to Israel “very seriously”, a former head of the British Army has said.
Lord Dannatt, the former chief of the general staff, said Mr Sunak would “do well to take note of” a letter signed by more than 600 lawyers which called on the Government to suspend sales.
He said there are both moral and legal issues about the supply of arms to Israel and the UK “needs to stay on the right side of both of those lines”.
He told Sky News: “I think the Prime Minister will do well to take note of, I am told it is as many as 600 senior judges and lawyers, who have signed this letter.
“And I think their experience and their interpretation of the law, international law, needs to be taken very seriously.
“And I think the British government needs to do, as the Prime Minister has said, scrutinise very carefully what it is doing in terms of supplying equipment to Israel to make sure that we are staying on the right side of the law.
“And of course it is not just a legal issue, there is a major moral issue here too which the atrocious attack 36 hours ago which killed seven aid workers really underlines. There are moral issues and there are legal issues and I think the UK being the sort of country that it is, needs to stay on the right side of both of those lines.”
