Ex-Trump adviser threatens UK with consequences if Labour ends arms sales to Israel

A former Donald Trump senior adviser warned that there would be a serious 'rift' between the UK and US should Keir Starmer’s Labour government implement an arms embargo on Israel, as the Gaza war remains ongoing.

Robert O’Brien said on Thursday the UK was at risk of jeopardising its future role in the F-35 jets projects and being at the receiving end of counter-embargos from the US if a ban on arms exports would go ahead.

He told the London-based think-tank, Policy Exchange, that "you would hate to see a situation where the UK is no longer a partner in the F-35 project or other advanced platforms because of a very ill-advised arms embargo on Israel," adding that the joint project would go to Israel "no matter what Turkey, the UK or any other country has to do with it".

O’Brien served as the US National Security Advisor to Donald Trump during his presidential tenure between 2017 and 2021, and is considered among the favourites to hold foreign policy positions should Trump become US president later this year.

O'Brien's comments appear to be the first public indication of potential tensions facing the Labour government if it decides to pursue a human-rights-based policy against Israel should Trump be elected as president.

"It is an extraordinarily dangerous policy proposal and has the potential to tear open the special relationship and really hurt the western alliance and NATO. There is a potential there for a serious rift, whether it is a Harris or Trump administration, between the UK and the US and I would tread very carefully," he added to Policy Exchange, as cited by Haaretz.

To this day, the UK still provides Israel with weapons despite the glaring violations and risk of being complicit in war crimes in the Gaza Strip, where at least 40,602 Palestinians have been killed since October 7.

UK-based NGOs have repeatedly called on the government to halt arms sales to Israel in light of the brutal military onslaught in Gaza, and international law violations enabled by arms sales to the country.

O'Brien's comments come as Trump has made several comments in recent weeks against the Democratic Party and its presidential nominee Kamala Harris, who he has accused of wanting to "destroy Israel".

He also made a trip to Israel in May, as part of an unofficial Trump delegation, where he met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as opposition politician Benny Gantz.

O’Brien said the purpose of the three-day visit was to show "his support for Israel" amid Trump's staunch pro-Israel presidential campaign.

In his interview, O’Brien called the International Criminal Court’s move requesting arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant a "joke" and said the UK "should take every necessary step to shut it down".

After winning the general elections in July, the Labour Party withdrew the Conservatives' initial objection to the ICC’s request for the arrest warrants. 

The move was followed by speculations that the UK would place an arms embargo on Israel, though this has yet to come into effect.