Boris Johnson attacks 'lefty lawyers' calling for UK to end arms sales to Israel

Boris Johnson has attacked members of the British establishment calling on the UK to stop selling arms to Israel.

The former Tory prime minister said those supporting the end of arms sales were "clamouring" for Britain to turn its back "on the only democracy in the Middle East".

He wrote in his Daily Mail column that if the UK stopped arms sales, it would encourage Britain to also end its military support for Israel, therefore "willing the military defeat" of the country and "the victory of Hamas".

Mr Johnson wrote: "Remember that in order to win this conflict, Hamas only has to survive. All they need at the end is to hang on, rebuild and go again. That's victory for Hamas and that is what these legal experts seem to be asking for."

The former MP said it was "shattering" to see deaths of three British aid workers, but that Israel was sending warnings of their attacks and "trying to use precision munitions".

He added: "If the West continues to crumble - and especially if Britain and the US crumble - then the Israelis will be prevented from getting into Rafah. They will be prevented from achieving their objective: of finishing Hamas as a military force in Gaza."

Mr Johnson asked: "Is that really what you want, all you legal experts who say that Israel's actions now necessitate an arms embargo? Do you want to hand victory to a bunch of murderers and rapists?"

He concluded that the banning of arms sales would be "insane" and "shameful". He added: "The sooner the Government formally denounces the idea, the better."

Three Britons were among the seven World Central Kitchen (WCK) aid workers who died in airstrikes in Gaza carried out by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) on Monday.

Israeli officials have dismissed two officers over the strikes, which were described as a "grave mistake stemming from a serious failure".

Foreign Secretary Lord David Cameron said the UK will carefully review findings of the initial IDF report into the incident released on Friday.

The incident has led to widespread calls from MPs from all major parties to end UK arms sales to Israel, as well as a letter signed by more than 600 lawyers, including former Supreme Court justices.

Meanwhile, the Government's ethics adviser is facing calls to investigate whether Lord Cameron and Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch could be in breach of the ministerial code over continued UK arms sales to Israel.

MPs from across the political spectrum have urged the foreign secretary to reveal whether he has received legal advice on continuing arms export licences to Israel, and publish it if he has.

Layla Moran, the Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesperson, has written to independent ethics adviser Sir Laurie Magnus, calling for an investigation into whether the two senior Cabinet ministers may have breached the ministerial code by not publishing the advice if they have received it.

The code, which sets out the standards expected of Government figures, says ministers have an "overarching duty" to comply with the law.

Despite calls to end arms sales, Conservative MP Bob Seely, who sits on the Foreign Affairs committee, has said the UK should "double down" on its relationship with Israel.

The Isle of Wight MP said those calling on the Government to end arms sales were engaging in "shallow gesture politics".

He told BBC Newsnight: "The reality is that we supply 0.02 percent of Israel's arms imports, which is a meaninglessly small figure, and actually by blocking it, effectively, this is shallow gesture politics and nothing but.

"And it's symptomatic of the way that gesture politics is driving out rigorous thought from public debate. So, let's have a rigorous public debate, let's talk about the issues, but please, let's just drop the gesture politics because it's pretty pointless."

Mr Seely added: "If you want to have a strategy, and if you want to have influence over people, you have to stay close to them. So actually, we have to double down on our relationship with Israel, but also Arab states that are involved in the same way."