Smoke and mirrors over 'lawfare'.

 

by   Melanie Phillips

 

The Israeli paper Ha'aretz , along with the Kadima leader Tzipi Livni, appear to have been taken in by Gordon Brown's noisy but misleading announcement in today's Daily Telegraph that he will change the law to prevent the abuse of 'universal jurisdiction' through threats to arrest visiting Israeli dignatories for 'war crimes', an abuse which has caused the cancellation of a number of high-profile visits by Israelis to the UK of which the latest was the planned visit by Livni. Brown wrote:

 

There is a case now, therefore, for the evidential basis on which arrest warrants can be allowed to be tougher and for restricting the right to prosecute the narrow range of crimes falling under universal jurisdiction to the Crown Prosecution Service alone.

 

Livni and Ha'aretz naively take this at face value to assume that the UK is to change the law. But this is not so. Brown has merely said he intends to change the law and will consult on the best way to do this. But with a general election to be held by June at the very latest, and with no legislation actually being tabled, there is clearly no time for any such change in the law to occur.

 

It is actually very easy to end this abuse, as Brown suggests; all that has to happen is for the consent of the Attorney-General or Director of Public Prosecutions to be required before any arrest warrant can be issued, just as is now required for any prosecution. This should be introduced not just in respect of visiting Israelis but to cover any other such vexatious and oppressive arrest stunts. But the reason Brown will not do this is that more than 100 Labour MPs have given notice they will revolt against any such infringement of 'ancient English liberties' – a cover for their actual motivation which is their hatred of Israel.

 

Brown's announcement today, and the fact that he personally associated himself with the case for a change in the law, are merely designed to camouflage the diplomatically embarrassing fact that he is in fact unable to take measures to prevent 'lawfare' in the UK against Britain's ally by extremist activists determined to delegitimise Israel over its defence against genocidal attack -- because so many of his own MPs share that same despicable objective.

 

 

 Melanie Phillips

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