Fighter jet firms dined key witness in Israel arms export case

The UK government is being challenged in court this week over its decision to keep exporting fighter jet parts that can be used by Israel’s fleet of F-35 warplanes.

Declassified has discovered that one of the key witnesses has accepted hospitality from arms firms directly involved in the F-35 supply chain.

Keith Bethell, a director of Defence Equipment and Support within the Ministry of Defence, was called on by the government to give written evidence about Britain’s role in the F-35 programme.

He is “responsible for putting to work an annual budget over £5 billion to deliver the Air portfolio of equipment acquisition” and “managing key industrial partnerships”, which will bring him into close contact with companies that make the F-35.

His evidence includes a confidential “closed” statement which will only be available to the judges, government lawyers, and special advocates who have security clearance to see secret evidence.

The landmark case has been brought by Palestinian human rights group Al-Haq with support from the Global Legal Action Network (GLAN), Oxfam, and Human Rights Watch.

GLAN lawyer Charlotte Andrews-Briscoe said: “F-35s are dropping multi-tonne bombs on the people of Gaza, which the UN Secretary General has described as a ‘killing field.’”

Bethell told the court that it would not be possible for the UK to extricate itself from the programme without having “an impact on operational readiness”, potentially leading “to very serious consequences in a short time frame”.

The testimony might help to convince the judges that Britain should continue to play a major role in the F-35 programme despite the fighter jets’ role in the annihilation of Gaza.

‘Working dinner’

But Bethell’s register of interests, which is published by the Ministry of Defence, raises concerns about potential conflicts of interest.

Since 2023, he has accepted hospitality from at least five arms corporations which are directly engaged in the F-35 programme.

One of those companies was Lockheed Martin, a US arms giant and the prime contractor for the F-35 programme, which would stand to lose heavily should Britain stop contributing fighter jet components.

A “working dinner” with Lockheed took place in March 2024, some months after Al-Haq had initiated its legal challenge over UK arms exports to Israel.

It is understood that meal focused on helicopter platforms, which was Bethell’s professional focus at the time.

He also had dinner with BAE Systems last June, the same month he took up his current position in charge of the “air domain”. BAE makes the F-35’s rear tail.

Bethell also attended the grand opening of Elbit Systems’ “research and development hub” in Bristol in 2023 alongside the Israeli ambassador to London, Tzipi Hotovely.

Elbit describes itself as “a pivotal contributor” to the F-35 programme.

Arms trade expert Andrew Feinstein told Declassified: “Key officials should not receive any benefit of any sort from defence companies.

“It creates the distinct impression that they are making major decisions in favour of those from whom they receive benefits rather than what is in the best interests of the British people.

“This is especially so in the case of the arms trade which is the most corrupt of all trades and in which decisions are made that can cost tens of thousands of people their lives, as is the case with the F-35s in Gaza”.

High-flyer

Before joining the MoD’s Defence Equipment and Support unit, Bethell worked for the Royal Air Force (RAF) for three decades, rising to the rank of Air-Vice Marshall.

His current role includes “managing key customer relationships”, according to his witness statement.

He told the court that “it is not possible for the UK to instruct the Contractors who operate the F-35 Global Support Solution not to transfer to Israel parts which have been produced in the UK”.

As such, “the only way for the UK to ensure that its components do not reach Israel is for it to suspend all exports into the F-35 programme”.

However, Bethell argued, this would not be advisable given any interruption “in the supply of spares manufactured uniquely by the UK would immediately have an impact on operational readiness and fleet resilience and potentially lead to very serious consequences”.

Paradoxically, he also claimed that while the UK government “does not have detailed information” on the issue, “the likelihood of UK manufactured components ending up in an Israeli F-35 aircraft is considered to be very small”.

This seems at odds with government barrister Sir James Eadie telling an earlier hearing that “there is clear risk that F-35 components might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of” international humanitarian law in Gaza.

In spite of these inconsistencies, the legal argument on behalf of Britain’s trade secretary Jonathan Reynolds, who decided on the licences, is heavily reliant on Bethell’s testimony.

It says “suspend[ing] all UK exports into the F-35 programme” would “incur serious risks to international peace and security”, while “the likelihood of UK-manufactured components being used in existing Israeli planes is very small”.

‘Beast mode’

In a video from 2018 seen by Declassified, Bethell said the UK was “very influential” in the F-35 programme.

More than 15 percent of each F-35 is manufactured in Britain, with over 100 UK-based companies contributing to the supply chain.

At least five of those companies have welcomed Bethell to events or dinners since 2023, including Lockheed, BAE Systems, QinetiQ, Collins Aerospace, and Elbit Systems.

Last year, Danish media outlet Danwatch revealed that one of Israel’s F-35 jets was involved in a devastating attack in Gaza on the designated safe zone of Al-Mawasi, killing 90 people and injuring over 300 more.

The Israeli air force has also modified its F-35 jets so that they can drop even larger ordnance including 2,000lb bombs, which it refers to as “beast mode”.

“Such bombs can be lethal within a 300-metre radius and typically leave a 12 metre wide bomb crater”, Al-Haq told the court.

A UN-appointed commission warned that these bombs can “rupture lungs and sinuses and tear off people’s limbs hundreds of feet from the blast site”.

A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said: “Directors at the Defence Equipment and Support regularly conduct routine engagement with Key industry partners across their portfolios.”