- The drone used to kill three British aid workers in Gaza may have had British tech
Questions have been raised over the UK’s role in the Israeli strike that killed three former British servicemen, after it emerged that the drone used may have had British-made parts in it.
Former Royal Marine James Henderson, 33, former SBS soldier John Chapman, 57, and British military veteran, James Kirby, 47, were among the seven World Central Kitchen (WCK) workers who were killed in an Israeli strike in the Gaza Strip on Monday.
The seven WCK workers pulled out of the charity’s warehouse in central Gaza late on Monday night in three cars clearly marked as working for the humanitarian organisation, and followed an IDF-approved route and had GPS trackers and SOS beacons broadcasting their positions.
But their lives were cut short when an Israeli-controlled Hermes 450 drone was scrambled to follow them, before picking the passengers of each car off with three precision R9X Hellfire missiles.
Unearthed export licenses have revealed that a British company may have been sending over parts for potential use in Hermes 450 drones as recently as 2021.
A Freedom of Information request, highlighted by the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians, shows that a Staffordshire-based company called UAV Engines Ltd. was sending over engine components for ‘military aero-engines’ to Israel.
The company, owned by the Israel drone specialists Silver Arrow, a subsidiary of the Israeli defence contractor Elbit Systems, successfully applied to send over ‘ignition units’, ‘washers’ and ‘pumps’ to Israel.
Washers were allowed to be sent until June 2021, pumps were allowed to be send until May 2021, and ignition units were allowed to be sent until August 2018.
UAV Engines Ltd. was previously under scrutiny after claims were made that its parts were used in the Hermes 450 drones, the same ones used to kill the seven charity workers on Monday.
It has previously denied that their parts were fitted to military drones in Israel, saying they were added to aircraft for export only to third countries.
But a senior official with the export control section of the government’s business and enterprise department said this hadn’t been checked.
According to the Guardian, Jane Carpenter said in a select committee hearing in 2009: ‘We cannot categorically confirm that we have physically checked that the engines have been incorporated. We only licensed them to Israel for onward export.’
MailOnline has contacted UAV Engines Ltd. for comment.
The three Brits died alongside aid workers from Australia, Poland, Palestine and a dual citizen of the US and Canada.
The Australian victim was named this morning as Lalzawmi ‘Zomi’ Frankcom, 44, from Melbourne, while the Polish victim was named as Damian Sobol.
Sobol, who also helped Ukrainian refugees, has been described as being a ‘brave compatriot’.
Jacob Flickinger, 33, was named as the dual US-Canadian worker, while Palestinian man Saifeddin Issam Ayad Abutaha also died helping deliver aid.
The UK’s role in the wider conflict has been called into question, and prime Minister Rishi Sunak has defended the UK’s ‘careful export licensing regime’ amid calls for the UK to stop arms exports to Israel.
Speaking to the Sun Newspaper’s Never Mind the Ballots show, Mr Sunak said: ‘I think we’ve always had a very careful export licensing regime that we adhere to.
‘There are a set of rules, regulations and procedures that we’ll always follow, and I have been consistently clear with Prime Minister Netanyahu since the start of this conflict that while of course we defend Israel’s right to defend itself and its people against attacks from Hamas, they have to do that in accordance with international humanitarian law, protect civilian lives and, sadly, too many civilians have already lost their lives.
‘Get more aid into Gaza. That’s what we’ve consistently called for and what we want to see actually is an immediate humanitarian pause to allow more aid in, and crucially the hostages to be released, and that’s what we’ll continue to push for.’
Lord Peter Ricketts, a former senior diplomat who chaired the Joint Intelligence Committee during the Blair government, had earlier said Israeli forces’ killing of the aid workers has sparked ‘global outrage’ as he called for an ‘immediate ceasefire’.
The crossbench peer, who served as national security adviser between 2010 and 2012, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘I think there is abundant evidence now that Israel hasn’t been taking enough care to fulfil its obligations on the safety of civilians, and a country that gets arms from the UK has to comply with international humanitarian law, that is a condition of the arms export licensing policy.
‘I think the time has come to send that signal.
‘It won’t change the course of the war. It would be a powerful political message, and it might just stimulate debate in the US as well, which would be the real game-changer, if the Americans began to think about putting limits, restrictions on the use of American weapons in Israel.’
He added: ‘Sometimes in conflict, you get a moment where there’s such global outrage that it crystalises a sense that things can’t go on like this.
‘I think – I hope – that this awful incident will serve that purpose.’
The peer said a failure by Israel to respond appropriately and show aid workers they are able to deliver supplies to areas of conflict should prompt ‘further steps to increase the pressure on (Israeli prime minister) Netanyahu’, including the UK no longer supplying the country with arms.
He called for ‘an immediate ceasefire for an extended period to open up the borders and make it safe to get aid in for those delivering it and those receiving it’, adding this could also help secure the release of hostages held by Hamas.
Liberal Democrat Leader Sir Ed Davey said ministers should ‘take swift action to suspend arms exports to Israel’.
He said: ‘The deaths of these British aid workers in Gaza is an absolute disgrace. These brave people were trying to help starving families in Gaza.
‘Clearly, the thought that British-made arms could have been used in strikes such as these is completely unacceptable.’
Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron has in recent weeks come under pressure from across the political spectrum to publish legal advice he has received about UK arms exports to Israel.
Export licences could not continue to be granted for UK arms heading to Israel if there is a risk weapons could be used in a serious violation of international humanitarian law.
Before MPs left Parliament for the Easter recess, Foreign Office minister Andrew Mitchell told the Commons UK arms exports amount to ‘0.02% of Israel’s military imports’ when questioned about the legal advice by shadow foreign secretary David Lammy.
Stephen Flynn, the SNP’s Westminster leader has written to Mr Sunak, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, and Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle, calling for an immediate recall of Parliament.
He wrote: ‘This situation demands that the Prime Minister comes to Parliament without further delay to outline the UK Government’s response to the killing of UK citizens by Israel, to enable MPs to scrutinise the UK Government’s response, and so that Parliament can finally debate and vote on ending arms sales to Israel.’