Was the drone that killed three British aid workers powered by UK-built tech? ... trends now
Questions have been raised over the UK's role in the Israeli strike that killed three former British servicemen, after it emerged that the drone used may have had British-made parts in it.
Former Royal Marine James Henderson, 33, former SBS soldier John Chapman, 57, and British military veteran, James Kirby, 47, were among the seven World Central Kitchen (WCK) workers who were killed in an Israeli strike in the Gaza Strip on Monday.
The seven WCK workers pulled out of the charity's warehouse in central Gaza late on Monday night in three cars clearly marked as working for the humanitarian organisation, and followed an IDF-approved route and had GPS trackers and SOS beacons broadcasting their positions.
But their lives were cut short when an Israeli-controlled Hermes 450 drone was scrambled to follow them, before picking the inhabitants of each car off with three precision R9X Hellfire missiles.
Unearthed export licenses have revealed that a British company may have been sending over parts for potential use in Hermes 450 drones as recently as 2021.
A Freedom of Information request, highlighted by the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians, shows that a Staffordshire-based company called UAV Engines Ltd. was sending over engine components for 'military aero-engines' to Israel.
James Henderson, 33, was travelling in a clearly marked car operated by the WCK in Gaza
James Kirby, 47, a former British sniper who served in Bosnia and Afghanistan, was killed
Hermes 450 UAV (pictured) used by Israel in the strikes could have had UK-made engine
Palestinians inspect a vehicle with the logo of the World Central Kitchen that was wrecked by an Israeli airstrike in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, pictured yesterday
The company, owned by the Israel drone specialists Silver Arrow, a subsidiary of the Israeli defence contractor Elbit Systems, successfully applied to send over 'ignition units', 'washers' and 'pumps' to Israel.
Washers were allowed to be sent until June 2021, pumps were allowed to be send until May 2021, and ignition units were allowed to be sent until August 2018.
UAV Engines Ltd. was previously under scrutiny after claims were made that its parts were used in the Hermes 450 drones, the same ones used to kill the seven charity workers on Monday.
It has previously denied that their parts were fitted to military drones in Israel, saying they were added to aircraft for export only to third countries.
But a senior official with the export control section of the government's business and enterprise department said this hadn't been checked.
According to the Guardian, Jane Carpenter said in a select committee hearing in 2009: 'We cannot categorically confirm that we have physically checked that the engines have been incorporated. We only licensed them to Israel for onward export.'
MailOnline has contacted UAV Engines Ltd. for comment.
The three Brits died alongside aid workers from Australia, Poland, Palestine and a dual citizen of the US and Canada.
The Australian victim was named this morning as Lalzawmi 'Zomi' Frankcom, 44, from Melbourne, while the Polish victim was named as Damian Sobol.
Sobol, who also helped Ukrainian refugees, has been described as being a 'brave compatriot'.
Jacob Flickinger, 33, was named as the dual US-Canadian worker, while Palestinian man Saifeddin Issam Ayad Abutaha also died helping deliver aid.
A UN worker holds a British man's passport at the scene of the strike
Horrific photographs showed how the vehicle's interior had been torn to shreds by the blast
Palestinians are standing next to a vehicle in Deir Al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, on April 2
The UK's role in the wider conflict has been called into question, and prime Minister Rishi Sunak has defended the UK's 'careful export licensing regime' amid calls for the UK to stop arms exports to Israel.
Speaking to the Sun Newspaper's Never Mind the Ballots show, Mr Sunak said: 'I think we've always had a very careful export licensing regime that we adhere to.
