The Attorney General, Lord Hermer, reportedly warned the prime minister that direct UK involvement in the Israel-Iran war “may be illegal”.
Hermer, who is one of two Jews to serve in the government (the other being Energy Secretary Ed Miliband), is said to be acting “as a restraining force” on the government’s support for Israel.
The UK has previously intervened in conflicts between Israel and Iran, notably scrambling RAF jets to shoot down missile launched by the Islamic Republic in October.
This time, though, there has been no such intervention, even as missile struck population centres like Tel Aviv and Haifa.
According to The Spectator, Hermer may be at the centre of this approach, with a Whitehall source telling the magazine: “The Attorney General has concerns about the UK playing any role in this except for defending our allies.”
Given that the Attorney General’s role is to advise the government on the legality of its policies, this would seem to indicate that Hermer’s position is that greater involvement could constitute a contravention of the UK’s legal obligations.
Indeed, The Independent is reporting that Hermer advised Sir Keir Starmer that “the UK joining the war on Iran may be illegal”.
So far, the government has advised against travel to Israel and has called for de-escalation of the conflict, but has not made any direct intervention.
However, whatever ministers decide, they could still face an awkward choice if the US involves itself on Israel’s side.
Reports this morning suggested that President Trump has approved a plan for the US to strike Iranian nuclear facilities but was “holding off” in case a last-minute peace deal can be achieved.
But with Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, pledging that Iran “will not surrender” in a message to his people last night, such an agreement appears unlikely.
If the US does choose to go ahead with strikes, the prime location from which to launch them would likely be its base on Diego Garcia, the largest of the Chagos Islands.
The island is, following a heavily scrutinised deal which Hermer is understood to have backed, now owned by Mauritius but leased to the UK, which maintains a joint air base with the US there.
As such, any strikes launched from Diego Garcia would need the sign-off from the British government before they could go ahead, even if it was the US Air Force conducting the operation, according to The Guardian.
It is not clear whether the UK approving the move – a decision left to the prime minister – would contravene Hermer’s reported legal position.
Commenting on the Spectator report, a spokesperson for the Attorney General’s Office told the JC: “By longstanding Convention, reflected in the Ministerial Code, whether the Law Officers have been asked to provide legal advice and the content of any advice is not routinely disclosed.
“The Convention provides the fullest guarantee that government business will be conducted at all times in light of thorough and candid legal advice.”
