You’d think that considering the recognition of Palestine as a state and slapping unprecedented sanctions on Israeli politicians would have pro-Palestine foreign office staff cheering to the gilded rafters. Under Starmer and Lammy, UK policy on Palestine has shifted significantly. But no…
In fact, hundreds of UK diplomats are in near open revolt over Lammy’s position on Israel – which they expressed in a letter directly challenging UK government policy. The top two mandarins in the department, Oliver Robbins and Nick Dyer, have responded (the full letter was obtained by Novara Media). The document suggests a variety of ways that pro-Palestine officials can dodge having to work on the issue – such as telling line-managers they fear their families might be under threat (are there really that many Palestinians working for the FCDO?), speaking to counsellors, or complaining to the Civil Service Commission. All this bureaucratic nonsense must be wasting a lot of time and money…
Only after this shenanigans do Robbins and Dyer get to the point: “if your disagreement with any aspect of Government policy is profound your ultimate recourse is to resign from the civil service.” Robbins himself quit the former Department for Exiting the EU…
Lucy Powell on LBC, asked by Tom Swarbrick for her reaction to Labour MP Samantha Niblett’s call for a ‘summer of sex’ debate in Parliament: “I personally don’t own any sex toys, but each to their own… I’m not really sure that’s the right place for it, no.”