Peter Oborne’s new book Complicit ends with a cathartic condemnation of all UK actors complicit in the ongoing genocide in Gaza. The list is long and contains a broad spectrum of UK institutions and individuals Oborne damns. His analysis spans the political, military, media, and public spheres.

Politically, he condemns the leadership of both parties, damning Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer, alongside senior figures like David Lammy, David Cameron, and James Cleverly. The criticism extends across the political spectrum to include Suella Braverman, Yvette Cooper, Priti Patel, and Kemi Badenoch, and commons speaker Lindsay Hoyle.

Complicit accuses the fourth estate

Oborne’s ire extends to the UK military, and its chief, admiral Tony Radakin, for its support of the Israeli military, and to the arms industry, specifically BAE Systems.

The media is a major focus, with editors and proprietors such as Rupert Murdoch, Rebekah Brooks, Victoria Newton (the Sun), Tony Gallagher (the Times), Chris Evans (the Telegraph), and Zanny Minton Beddoes (the Economist) cited for their coverage. He also criticises the BBC’s leadership, including Tim Davie and Samir Shah.

Oborne also names the archbishop of Canterbury. He says:

Damn the ignorant, lavishly paid, cruel, canting newspaper columnists and studio hosts.
Damn the know-nothing reporters who peddled lies and twisted the facts. Damn the reporters who were too afraid to search out the truth.

Damn those who passed by on the other side. Damn the Archbishop of Canterbury, who refused to meet a Bethlehem pastor.

Beyond specific figures, he condemns lobby groups (Conservative Friends of Israel, Labour Friends of Israel), commentators accused of spreading misinformation, and those who misused the charges of antisemitism.

Legal avenues and barriers

The author outlines legal avenues for accountability, identifying both mechanisms and barriers. Under the Rome Statute and the UK’s International Criminal Court Act 2001, individuals who aid, abet, or facilitate genocide, crimes against humanity, or war crimes can be held criminally liable.

However, UK prosecutions require consent from the Attorney General, a political appointee, which acts as a major obstacle:

The Attorney General is appointed, and can be dismissed, by the prime minister. The Attorney General is therefore a creature of the government who would be unlikely to prosecute misconduct by their colleagues and party – even if that misconduct reaches the pitch of the facilitation of genocide.

Oborne also notes alternative international strategies. The International Centre for Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) is pursuing cross-border legal complaints through its “Global 195” initiative.

He also cites the International Court of Justice (ICJ), where South Africa initiated a case in December 2023, accusing Israel of violating the Genocide Convention. The ICJ has indicated that a final judgment in South Africa’s case may take years. However, in January 2024 the court issued a provisional ruling, ordering Israel to implement measures aimed at preventing genocidal acts in Gaza and ensuring the free flow of humanitarian assistance.

This case has gained significant international backing. By September 2025, Brazil formally intervened in support of South Africa’s case. It joined other nations including Spain, Ireland, Mexico, and Türkiye.

An established historical pattern

Oborne gives a detailed account of events from 7 October 2023 onward. He shows that UK support for Israel continued unchanged as power moved from Rishi Sunak’s Conservative government to Keir Starmer’s Labour administration. And it’s his emphasis on this as part of an established pattern that is crucial to understanding the UK’s role.

Modern UK complicity, Oborne argues, is rooted in imperial decisions, beginning with the 1917 Balfour Declaration, which he describes as an act of imperial “self-interest,” not moral conviction. This policy continued through the British Mandate era in Palestine (1920-1948), during which the UK facilitated Zionist settlement and governance while suppressing Palestinian political aspirations.

This support continued in recent decades. After Hamas won the 2006 Palestinian elections, the UK joined the US and EU in imposing a strict siege on Gaza. Complicit describes the situation:

Once Hamas assumed control of Gaza in June 2007, Israel and its Western allies tightened the economic siege they had imposed on the Strip after Hamas’ electoral victory. The siege caused what Amnesty International and humanitarian NGOs called a ‘humanitarian implosion’, devastating Gaza’s economy and raising unemployment levels to among the highest in the world.

He also draws attention to the consistency in the UK’s diplomatic response to Israeli military operations. After Operation Cast Lead in 2008-09, a UK court issued an arrest warrant for then-Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, after she had publicly stated that Israel had gone “wild” in Gaza and called it “a good thing.” The warrant, requested by lawyers for Palestinian victims, led Livni to cancel a planned visit to London. It was subsequently withdrawn.

The then foreign secretary David Miliband expressed shock, pledging urgently to find ways to prevent such legal actions in the future. Miliband justified this stance by describing Israel as a “strategic partner and a close friend of the UK”.

Complicit is a meticulously compiled dossier of the UK’s complicity — chronicling support the UK has provided politically, militarily, and diplomatically to Israel.

Featured image via OR Books

By The Canary

This post was originally published on Canary.