Foreign office refuses request for documents concerning UK aid to Palestinian Authority

The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) has refused to disclose and publish documents concerning how British aid to the Palestinian Authority is audited.

In a statement to the Israel campaign groups We Believe in Israel and B’nai B’rith UK, the foreign office said:” “The disclosure of information detailing the audit reports of the
Palestinian Recovery and Development Programme could potentially damage the bilateral relationship between the UK and Palestine.”

The two pro-Israel groups had asked for the documents under a joint freedom of information (FOI) request sent by We Believe in Israel and B’nai B’rith UK in May 2023.

This FOI request was motivated by a desire to establish whether or not British taxpayers are funding the notorious “Pay for Slay” scheme where the Palestinian Authority incentivises terrorism by disbursing salaries to convicted terrorists while they are in Israeli prisons, or their families in the event of their death.

Luke Akehurst, Director of We Believe in Israel, said: “Our FOI request was submitted in good faith as part of an attempt to ensure that British aid to the Palestinian Authority is not being used to support, facilitate, or incentivise terrorism, be that directly or indirectly.

“By initially failing to lawfully respond and now refusing to provide the disclosure, the FCDO raises questions about the integrity of its foreign aid distribution, especially to the Palestinian Authority.

“It is also highly likely that oversight mechanisms are lacking, and the FCDO are attempting to conceal serious due diligence failures.

“We have requested an internal review, and on exhausting internal appeals will re-refer the FCDO back to the ICO. We are determined to secure this disclosure, and will take all reasonable steps necessary to do so.”

In a refusal notice, the FCDO wrote: “The disclosure of information detailing the audit reports of the
Palestinian Recovery and Development Programme could potentially damage the bilateral
relationship between the UK and Palestine.

“This would reduce the UK government’s ability to protect and promote UK interests through its relations with Palestine, which would not be in the public interest.”

It was also suggested that the presence of third party personal data prevented publication, despite how easily such content could be redacted.

The two groups said this decision contradicts precedents set by the ICO when, in 2019, they ordered the now defunct Department for International Development (DFID) to release similar documents requested by UK Lawyers for Israel.