Rishi Sunak facing pressure over UK arms sales to Israel

Rishi Sunak facing pressure over UK arms sales to Israel Rishi Sunak is facing growing pressure over UK arms sales to Israel, after the killing of seven aid workers by an Israeli strike in Gaza. The Liberal Democrats, Scottish National Party (SNP) and a former UK national security adviser are calling for sales to be suspended now. Labour says sales must stop if government lawyers believe Israel risks breaching international law. The prime minister says the UK has a "very careful" arms licensing regime. Speaking to the Sun, he called for an independent investigation into the Israeli strike, but stopped short of saying arms sales should end.   He added that the UK had been "consistently clear" with Israel that it must follow international humanitarian law.   Describing the deaths as "an awful tragedy," he said the UK wanted to see "a dramatic increase in the amount of aid getting into Gaza". Live updates after aid workers killed Who were the seven aid workers killed in Gaza? What we know about the aid convoy strike Britons John Chapman, James Henderson and James Kirby, who were all military veterans, were working alongside food aid charity World Central Kitchen as security and safety advisors when their convoy was attacked from the air on Monday. The other individuals killed in the strike were aid workers Lalzawmi "Zomi" Frankcom, an Australian national, American-Canadian dual citizen Jacob Flickinger, Polish national Damian Sobol and Palestinian Saifeddin Issam Ayad Abutaha.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the attack as unintended and "tragic", promising an independent investigation.   Speaking to the BBC earlier, former national security advisor Lord Ricketts called for the UK to halt arms sales, saying it would send a "powerful message" and encourage a similar debate in the United States.   "I think there's abundant evidence now that Israel hasn't been taking enough care to fulfil its obligations on the safety of civilians," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.   Parliament recall demand Sir Alan Duncan, an ex-Tory MP and former Foreign Office minister, has also joined calls for a suspension, writing in the Independent that further arms sales "cannot be justified". Labour has not called for a suspension, but is urging the government to publish internal legal advice on whether Israel is in breach of international law.