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David Lammy reiterated that Labor would seek to enforce an arrest warrant against Benjamin Netanyahu if issued by the International Criminal Court.
Speaking to CNN, the shadow foreign secretary said the Labor government would comply if an arrest warrant was issued for the Israeli prime minister, adding that he expected the reaction to be the same across Europe.
Llamas has made the same commitment before that, but his remarks to Farid Zakaria of the American TV channel came as the ICC nears a decision on the warrants issue.
Labor has faced criticism from Israeli groups for making the commitment, which was previously made before UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called a general election. Explaining his rationale, Lammy said: “The architecture that was put in place after the Second World War, the rules-based order in which we believe so much, the international legal structure – one of the great architects of that was Churchill in our country.
“This is something that has been a guiding light for the UK for many years and that is why we have signed the Rome Statute. We believe in the ICC and ICJ. I have now seen what the Attorney General said about his desire for warrants.
“There is a process, a judicial process, that will determine whether they will be granted. But we have been very clear that in the Labor Party we believe in rules-based order. We believe in international law. We also believe in the separation of powers.”
Lammy added: “It is not for me, as a politician, to start questioning or debating decisions made by senior judges, whether at home or abroad.”
Pressed by Zakaria on whether Labor would comply, he said: “Here in the UK we will comply and it will be the same across Europe. I know that the United States has not signed the statute. So there will be a different debate in the United States on these issues. I admit that.
The ICC prosecutor Karim Khanannounced on May 20 that it was asking for arrest warrants from the court proceedings. Under the procedure, court judges decide whether they believe the evidence gathered is sufficient to issue arrest warrants – something that can take weeks or months.
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Joe Biden, the US president, described the ICC’s move as “outrageous”.
Arrest warrants were also sought for the leader of Hamas in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar; Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant; Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh; and the group’s military chief, Mohammed Deif.
Netanyahu is accused by Khan of starving civilians, targeting civilians, and intentionally killing and causing great suffering.
Warrants may remain sealed pending an arrest. This means that suspects are effectively no longer able to travel to the 124 countries that are parties to the ICC statute and are therefore obliged to arrest and bring them to justice.
The ICC itself indicated on social media on Sunday that the court could request either a subpoena, in which someone surrenders to the court voluntarily, or an arrest warrant, which is executed by national authorities.
Lammy also said the UK would not reopen the issue of EU membership and the EU itself would not be interested unless it had a final opinion on rejoining the UK.
He said that such an established opinion did not exist “because the Conservative Party, the Reform Party, a significant part of the electorate, opposed it. So this is not a debate that can be reopened unless there is a shift in perspective, and although I may have views, the truth is that the Conservative Party is not in that position at this stage.
Lammy also sounded optimistic about the impact of Donald Trump’s re-election on the war against Russia in Ukraine. He said: “Donald Trump has actually increased US troops to NATO and their presence in Europe. He shipped the first Javelins, actually to Ukraine, because he likes a deal and likes to get things done.
“He will not want to see the United States or its partners lose battles in the future.” This is the truth.”
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