UK Barrister Steven Barrett has hit out at the civil servants calling for legal action against the Government, after a trading union has revealed civil servants involved with arms exports have raised serious concerns over their own degree of legal liability, if Israel is found to be violating international humanitarian law.
A union representing these civil servants, Public and Commercial Services Union, has said it is "seriously considering taking legal action" in relation to the UK's arms sales to Israel.
The union has claimed that their civil servants are "being forced to carry out unlawful acts", and the UK Government is "obliged to do all they can to halt the onslaught".
Speaking to GB News, Steven Barrett said the UK Government has "started to allow civil servants to be political" when they are "meant to be impartial".
Barrister Steven Barrett says the move is an 'assault on the constitution'
GB News
GB News host Tom Harwood was in agreement with Barrett, and argued that "any liability for any political decision lies with the elected ministers in government, rather than the so-called impartial civil service".
Barrett stated that "once the civil servants begin to become political, impartiality collapses".
Barrett explained: "It is a good intention that we've allowed the civil servants to become political, but it is also a wickedness, because it is a breakdown in the system of our Constitution, which requires impartiality.
"It requires them to not be political at all, and requires them to be servants. And what they're doing is trying to become master."
Civil Servants have told the UK government they are 'obliged to do all they can to halt the onslaught'
PA
Good Afternoon Britain host Emily Carver asked Barrett if the civil servants threatening legal action "will make a difference" because they are "so unionised" against the Government.
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Barrett replied: "That's one of the reasons that the unions have caused problems in this country. Our unions became very political and they've stayed very political.
"It may well be that that's one of the reasons unions are largely less successful in this country. They're smaller here and they're across fewer industries."
In criticism of the move by civil servants, Barrett fumed: "What is happening is an assault on the Constitution. Once you lose the concept of impartiality, once civil servants are masters... they're using the excuse of international law. This is a trick we've seen for years.
"International law is not always binding on us. If international law was always binding on us, we would be slaves, we wouldn't be a democracy. Our votes wouldn't matter. Our governments would have no power. The previous treaties that some other government had agreed would bind us forever until our new masters let us go."
Steven Barrett has hit out at civil servants for 'considering taking legal action' over Israel
GB News
Barrett noted that the UK "threw away its tyrant in 1688", and we "will not have a fresh tyrant in international law".
He said: "Our sovereign is Parliament. We are bound by domestic law."
Barrett explained: "This nonsense about Israel being somehow involved in a genocide is not an excuse for civil servants to start behaving politically. There will be good civil servants, and the good civil servants need to understand that if you restore impartiality, you protect civil servants from all of this."
Public and Commercial Services Union's head of bargaining, Paul O’Connor said in a statement: "The International Court of Justice considers that some of the alleged acts by Israel in Gaza could potentially be considered within the provisions of the Genocide Convention.
"PCS concurs with that view. We believe that the UK government has an obligation to do all it can to halt the onslaught. As it does not appear to be willing to do so, we are seriously considering taking legal action to prevent our members from being forced to carry out unlawful acts.
"We do not take such cases lightly and we only do so where we have a reasonable prospect of winning."
