Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many items of protective body armour his Department has supplied for use by journalists operating in Gaza since October 2023.

The Department for Business and Trade does not supply body armour, and the export of body armour for personal protection when accompanying its user (for their own use) is not subject to export control.

Nonetheless the Department has approved 12 licences for the export of protective body armour for use by news organisations in Israel or Palestine since October 2023. Of these, 9 relate to Media Open Individual Licences which allow export to a wide range of countries. Similar equipment has also been licensed for export for use by NGOs in the region.

The UK is appalled by the extremely high number of fatalities, arrests and detentions of media workers in the State of Palestine. We have called on all parties to fully uphold International Humanitarian Law and ensure protection of civilians including journalists.