“Given the gravity of the situation in Gaza, the degree of public and parliamentary interest and the risks to the credibility of the UK’s export controls regime, there is a compelling case to publish the government’s legal advice."
Guess who said this?
Stephen Flynn? No. Humza Yousaf? No. Jeremy Corbyn? Guess again.
It was David Lammy, just a few months ago.
READ MORE: Labour slammed over continuing Israeli arms sales secrecy
In a letter to former foreign secretary David Cameron just 120 days ago, Lammy warned that if legal advice suggested there was a clear risk of British arms being used in international war crimes, arms exports to Israel must be halted.
Lammy is now Foreign Secretary. No legal advice has been published. Arms are still being exported. The minister says a new "process" (no detail provided) has been started to establish the legality of the exports.
It certainly looks like the can is being kicked down the road.
What changed in those 120 days?
In the time that's passed since March, an International Criminal Court prosecutor has announced he is seeking an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as his defence chief, amid concerns over a failure to comply with international law.
Prosecutor Karim Khan accused Israel of "a widespread and systematic attack against the Palestinian civilian population", arguing they, as well as three senior Hamas leaders, "bear criminal responsibility" for alleged war crimes.
Charity Oxfam has accused the new Labour government of "aiding and abetting" Israel's international humanitarian law breaches, urging Lammy to not simply call for a ceasefire but halt arms sales to Netanyahu.
The organisation also released a report just this week warning that Israel is using water as a "weapon of war", cutting off supplies, destroying water facilities and stopping aid from getting into Gaza.
Such behaviour would clearly be a breach of international law, potentially qualifying as collective punishment.
Sadly, there are countless more examples we could draw your attention to. Not least that on Friday, the International Court of Justice said that Israel's presence in the occupied territories is "unlawful" and said it should end as "rapidly as possible".
How long are the Palestinian people expected to wait for this new government to decide whether to publish the existing advice, or design this fresh "process"?
When there are 186,000 people dead in Gaza?
That's what one letter in medical journal The Lancet recently suggested the death toll could reach.
Labour said this legal advice should be published. This government must now jump into action, urgently. Taking any other step is pure obfuscation.
This is a direct message to Foreign Secretary David Lammy: Do the right thing.
Tomorrow, our front page takes that message to the Foreign Secretary as we back MPs' efforts to hold Lammy accountable. Please make sure to help our message be seen as widely as possible.
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