Israel: Royal College of Defence Studies

Lord Walney Excerpts

Wednesday 17th September 2025 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Lord Walney]

To ask His Majesty’s Government on what grounds they have barred officers from the Israel Defense Forces from participating in the Royal College of Defence Studies, and whether they apply the same criteria to other countries.

[The Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Baroness Chapman of Darlington) (Lab)]

My Lords, the Ministry of Defence has decided to pause future Israeli participation in UK training courses, given our concerns regarding the Israel Defense Forces’ conduct in Gaza, particularly the decision to further escalate their offensive in Gaza City.

[Lord Walney (CB)]

I thank my noble friend for that Answer, but I must say that, even in the current context of destructive tokenism from the United Kingdom Government over Israel, this decision or gesture seems particularly depressing and particularly likely to strike at the relationship between our countries, which I hope she will accept is vital for our long-term security and that of the British people. As she appears to be speaking for the Ministry of Defence here, can she say how these criteria have been applied, for example, to Qatar, which continues to sponsor Islamist terrorism, and China, whose treatment of the Uyghur people is an international scandal and which poses a clear risk to global security with its attitude towards Taiwan?

[Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)]

I am not speaking for the MoD; I am speaking for the Government. But I respect the noble Lord’s position on this. He clearly disagrees with the decision that the Government have taken, and that is absolutely his right. We understand, and this is not a decision that we have taken lightly.

The noble Lord asked about criteria; there is not a set criteria for this decision. It is an unusual position that we have had to take, but we are in an unusual situation. Israel, as he quite rightly reminds us, is a long-standing friend and ally; we have close links with Israel, through many historical ties, people-to-people ties and business ties. I very much hope that we can restore the arrangement as it was, because I think it is good for the United Kingdom, and for Israel too, but, as things are at the moment, the things that are happening on the ground in Gaza and the unwillingness of the Government of Israel to engage, listen and change course have led us to take this regrettable decision.