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The Guardian World1 min read
Foreign Office cuts will weaken oversight of international law, MPs warn
TL;DR
MPs warn that the closure of the Foreign Office's international humanitarian law unit will weaken the UK's oversight of international law violations. The restructuring raises concerns about the government's commitment to uphold international law and access to critical incident data.
Key points
- Closure of the Foreign Office's international humanitarian law unit
- Concerns raised by MPs about oversight of international law
- Keir Starmer's response regarding restructuring
- Ending of the contract with the Conflict and Security Monitoring Project
- Access to a database of 26,000 incidents from the Israel-Hamas conflict
MPs have expressed alarm at the closure of the Foreign Office’s international humanitarian law unit, warning it “will impair the UK’s ability to anticipate, assess and respond to serious violations of international law across multiple contexts”.
News of the closure, revealed by the Guardian, was raised with Keir Starmer at prime minister’s questions this week by the independent MP for Dewsbury and Batley, Iqbal Mohamed. Starmer said the work would be undertaken by another team as part of a restructuring.
However, he made no reference to the ending of the Foreign Office contract with the Conflict and Security Monitoring Project, run by the Centre forInformation Resilience, which monitors incidents of concern in Gaza, the West Bank and, more recently, Lebanon.
In a letter to the foreign secretary, Yvettte Cooper, the cross-party group of MPs asked how the closure aligned with the government’s stated commitment to upholding international law and ensuring rigorous compliance with the UK’s arms export licensing criteria.
They also questioned what steps the Foreign Office would take to retain access to the database of 26,000 incidents dating to 7 October 2023, when Hamas launched its attack on Israel, prompting Israel’s military response in Gaza.
According to Gaza’s health ministry, more than 70,000 people have been killed since then.
The MPs asked what other data sources the department intended to use to monitor breaches of international humanitarian law.
The cuts come as part of a restructuring programme, known as FCDO 2030, overseen by the now-dismissed permanent secretary, Olly Robbins.
The trade union representing Foreign Office staff, the PCS, also challenged Starmer’s claim that the work of the unit could be absorbed elsewhere, stating that senior leadership had predicted job cuts of 15-20%.
The union said it “has not been provided with detailed plans setting out what work will continue, what will cease or how the remaining staff could absorb highly specialised areas”. It added that it had seen no evidence that ministers fully understood the impact of the cuts or whether they aligned with the priorities of the public.
Polling published on Friday by Medical Aid for Palestinians and conducted by YouGov found that 54% of the public would like to see the UK end all arms exports to Israel, compared with 22% who supported weapons sales.
Robbins had been overseeing the restructuring of the Foreign Office, and in effect had required some diplomats to prove their suitability for their job after the decision in February 2025 to reduce Official Development Assistance spending.
Estimates published by the Foreign Office this week show projected spending of £6.28bn in 2026-27, a £2.39bn (27%) reduction on the previous year.
Q&A
How will the closure of the Foreign Office's international humanitarian law unit affect international law oversight?
The closure is expected to impair the UK's ability to anticipate and respond to serious violations of international law.
What did Keir Starmer say about the restructuring of the Foreign Office's international law unit?
Keir Starmer indicated that the work would be taken over by another team but did not address the ending of the contract with the Conflict and Security Monitoring Project.
What is the significance of the database containing 26,000 incidents related to the Israel-Hamas conflict?
The database, dating back to October 7, 2023, is crucial for monitoring incidents of concern in Gaza, the West Bank, and Lebanon, and its accessibility is now in question.
