Fresh questions have emerged over the British government’s response to reports that the previous Conservative government threatened to defund the International Criminal Court if it pursued arrest warrants against Israeli leaders.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has released apparently misleading information about a phone call in which then foreign secretary, David Cameron, allegedly made the threat to the ICC’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, Middle East Eye can reveal.
Details of the 23 April 2024 phone call between Cameron and Khan were first reported by MEE in June last year, but the foreign office has repeatedly refused to comment on the matter, despite growing political pressure.
Last week MEE reported that the Foreign Office had been forced for the first time to confirm that a phone conversation between Cameron and Khan took place in response to a Freedom of Information request filed by Unredacted, a research unit based at the University of Westminster.
Unredacted asked which ministers or officials were present on the call to Khan. In response, the Foreign Office said: "The then Foreign Secretary, David Cameron, was the only person present on the call on 23 April 2024 with Karim Khan."
