David Cameron privately threatened to defund and withdraw the UK from the International Criminal Court (ICC) if it issued arrest warrants for Israeli leaders – a move described by insiders as shocking, aggressive, and deeply disappointing.
☎️ ‘Like dropping a hydrogen bomb’
In a heated phone call in April 2024, then-Foreign Secretary Cameron told ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan that issuing warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his then-defence minister Yoav Gallant would be “like dropping a hydrogen bomb”.
He warned that the UK would pull funding from the court and withdraw from the Rome Statute – its founding charter – if the warrants went ahead. Sources say Cameron also accused Khan of “singling out” Israel and creating a false “moral equivalence” with Hamas.
At the time, Khan was on an official trip to Venezuela and had already informed US and UK officials that arrest warrants were imminent for both Israeli and Hamas leaders over alleged war crimes in Gaza.
📉 Cameron’s fury: ‘You’ll lose the dressing room’
According to sources who’ve seen the minutes of the call, Cameron repeatedly shouted over Khan, accusing him of losing international support and comparing Israel’s actions to legitimate self-defence following the 7 October attacks.
Cameron suggested the ICC was playing into a dangerous narrative and warned that, if the UK remained a signatory, it would be forced to arrest Netanyahu if he set foot on British soil.
Khan refused to back down, saying, “If this were to occur, then we would have to accept that the rules-based system would be dead.”
🇬🇧 Threats behind closed doors
The British government never publicly confirmed the threat, but shortly after the call, Cameron called the ICC’s decision “a mistake” and reiterated claims of “moral equivalence” between Hamas and Israel.
Sources close to Khan said he felt both surprised and disheartened by Cameron’s tone. “I don’t like being pressured. I don’t like being threatened,” Khan reportedly told colleagues.
He added: “It was a surprise and a disappointment… leaders that have held such high office… how on earth can they think they can get away with that?”
⚖️ Labour reverses course
After winning the July general election, Keir Starmer’s Labour government dropped the Conservatives’ formal objection to the ICC’s case, stating: “We’re very clear about the importance of the rule of law and the independence of the court.”
Starmer has since imposed a partial arms embargo on Israel and suspended trade talks, although the government has stopped short of accusing Israel of breaching international law.
🔒 Arrest warrants, secret visits, and legal blocks
Despite the ICC’s warrants being made public in November, the UK has not confirmed whether it would arrest Netanyahu or Gallant if they visited. Meanwhile, other Israeli politicians – including Foreign Minister Gideon Saar – have travelled to the UK, with legal requests for his arrest being blocked.
In April, MEE revealed that Saar secretly visited London and met Cameron’s successor, David Lammy.
🧊 Khan faces backlash – and sanctions
Khan is currently on leave while facing a UN investigation into sexual misconduct allegations, which he denies. Meanwhile, the US – under Donald Trump – has slapped sanctions on him, revoked his visa, and frozen his family’s assets.
The ICC condemned the sanctions as an attack on judicial independence. The US recently extended sanctions to four ICC judges, accusing them of “illegitimate actions” against Israel and the US.
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