Livni to test Britain's new war crimes law

Former Israeli foreign minister Tzipi Livni is set to provide the first test to Britain's new war crimes law when she arrives for a visit this week. Livni, leader of the opposition Kadima Party, hastily cancelled her last visit to the UK in December 2009 when an arrest warrant was issued over her alleged role in the massacre of more than 1,400 Palestinians in Gaza. But last month, the universal jurisdiction law was changed, making it necessary to obtain the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) before a war crimes warrant can be issued. The change was followed by Israeli protests about Livni's arrest warrant and has led to widespread criticism that it was politically motivated. The British Foreign Office confirmed that Livni had been invited to meet Foreign Secretary William Hague, for talks on Thursday. “As leader of the Israeli opposition she will have a number of meetings, including with the Foreign Secretary to discuss UK-Israel relations and recent events in the region,” a spokesman said. Her visit was first revealed at a Conservative Friends of Israel (CFI) fringe meeting at the annual Conservative Party Conference in Manchester, north-west England on Monday. CFI director Stuart Polak said Livni always planned to come to the UK once there had been a change in the law to prevent her being arrested. The universal jurisdiction law, Polak said, has been a “blot on the landscape of the relations of the UK and Israel.” “Which is why (Prime Minister) David Cameron and William Hague said in opposition that it should be rectified which is what they have done,” he said.