The British government has reportedly suspended intelligence on Caribbean drug trafficking operations with the United States to distance itself from recent air strikes on cartel boats, seemingly favoring the maximalism of human rights lawyers over security interests.
US President Donald Trump’s policy of using “kinetic strikes” to stop drugs from spreading on US streets has been bluntly rejected by the human rights lawyer-led British government, apparently prioritizing adherence to UN rules over its relationship with the country’s most important ally.
According to CNN, intelligence gathered from UK military intelligence assets deployed in British overseas territories and the Caribbean is no longer being shared with Washington. The British government has refused to confirm or deny these claims, citing the importance of confidentiality in intelligence matters, but the report cites an internal British source as saying that Britain stopped sharing intelligence a month before the US began sinking drug smuggling boats and that it made the decision due to human rights concerns.
Former UK Home Secretary and Attorney General Suella Braverman, a Conservative lawmaker who has established herself on the Farage-friendly right of the party, criticized the decision and warned that it would further damage Britain’s relationship with the United States, on which Britain ultimately depends for security under the auspices of NATO.
Braverman said, “The Special Relationship is dead”, laying it at the feet of the Prime Minister, adding: “It was killed by Keir Starmer and his left-wing lawyer cronies, who live in a fantasy world separate from the rest of us. They hate strong leadership and decisiveness.”
Farage Reform UK’s head of policy, Zia Yousaf, also spoke out against the decision, pointing out the hypocrisy of the Starmer government, which is putting Britons at risk by keeping borders open to “violent criminals and rapists”, as well as displaying excessive concern for the human rights of drug traffickers.
Prime Minister Starmer, who was a high-flying human rights lawyer before entering politics, brought with him to power his longtime ally Richard Harmer – another human rights lawyer – to become Attorney General. The government’s side with UN human rights lawyer Volker Turk, who last month declared Trump’s effort to end drug trafficking with military means “unacceptable”, is likely due to Harmer’s intervention, reports. The Daily Telegraph,
This is one of many examples where Britain’s left-wing government has weakened its security and defense posture, with Harmer allegedly having a hand in the development. Just yesterday, nine four-star British generals signed an unprecedented joint letter warning that the government’s obsession with human rights law is forcing troops to consider themselves “not only the enemy at the front but the lawyer in the rear.”
A group of recently retired top military men said the exodus of Special Forces soldiers is underway because soldiers no longer trust the government to protect them from lawsuits once they come home. He warned that legal activists “risk undermining the moral foundation and operational effectiveness of the forces on which this country depends” and that such “law and order threats are a direct threat to national security.”
It is said that Attorney General Harmer was also a prime mover in the UK Government’s decision to give away a major strategic base in the Indian Ocean at huge cost to the taxpayer.
British involvement in counter-narcotics in the Caribbean has been substantial and goes far beyond intelligence. The Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary have had a presence in the region for centuries, and anti-drug operations date back to at least the 1980s, when British ships and helicopters used to intercept drug boats. Beyond that role, British warships in the Caribbean also provide fly-the-flag or guardship roles for British-owned islands and disaster relief for the annual hurricane season.
