Blitz Bureau
BRITAIN supports the independence of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and has no plans to sanction its officials, Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s spokesperson said on Friday.
The spokesperson was asked about the ICC after U.S. President Donald Trump authorised economic and travel sanctions targeting people who work on ICC investigations of U.S. citizens or allies such as Israel. “That’s a matter for the U.S.,” the spokesperson told reporters.
“As for the UK, we support the independence of the ICC, and therefore have no plans to sanction individual court officials.” He stressed that Trump’s sanctions move was “ultimately a matter for the US.” The UK, unlike America, is a signature of the Rome Statute which established the ICC.
The move has triggered condemnation from the ICC, who has said it “stands firmly by its personnel and pledges to continue providing justice and hope to millions of innocent victims of atrocities across the world”. The ICC has issued an arrest warrant for Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu for alleged war crimes in relation to the conflict in Gaza.
