More than 85 British MPs have written to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood expressing concern over reports that the government is blocking the evacuation of dozens of women and children from Gaza. Families who applied to join immediate relatives in Britain before last September's policy suspension remain trapped in Gaza, unable to reunite with loved ones despite having legal claims to do so.
Labour MP Kim Johnson sent the letter on Thursday. It was signed by MPs from across different parties, including dozens of Labour members such as Richard Burgon, Diane Abbott, Clive Lewis, John McDonnell and Abtisam Mohamed. Green MPs Sian Berry, Carla Denyer and Hannah Spencer also signed, along with members of the parliamentary Independent Alliance and some Liberal Democrat and Scottish National Party MPs.
Bureaucracy Over Humanity
The Home Office suspended refugee family reunion applications last September, pending the introduction of new, stricter rules. Those rules haven't been announced. As a result, families in Gaza who had applied to join an immediate family member in Britain before the suspension have been blocked from doing so — left in limbo while policy debates drag on in London.
"Family reunification should never be treated as a political bargaining chip," Johnson said. "For families enduring the horrors of Gaza, it is a lifeline – often the only hope of safety and the chance to hold their loved ones again." She added, "At a time of unimaginable loss and trauma, the very least we should be doing is ensuring those with a legal right to be together are not torn apart by needless Home Office obstruction. We cannot allow bureaucracy to stand in the way of humanity."
The letter said Palestinians in the UK had been told by the Foreign Office that they had agreed to evacuate their families from Gaza. It said lawyers reported that the Home Office appeared to be refusing to provide the required onward travel assurance and sometimes using legal challenges to block these families from coming to the UK, in a way that appeared to be taking a harsher line with Palestinian families than with refugees from other countries applying for family reunification visas.
Unmet Promises
The government's medical evacuation scheme, which commits to bringing 300 children "in need of life saving and life changing medical care" from Gaza to the UK, still remained unmet. The letter raised the cases of two children from Gaza: 12-year-old Mahmoud Mansi and 15-year-old Obaida Atwan, who were evacuated from Gaza and met former Prime Minister Keir Starmer last December. Starmer promised to do everything in his power to reunite them with their remaining family back in Gaza. They've heard nothing further in the months since.
The MPs asked Mahmood to urgently reinstate the family reunification process for Palestinians and work with counterparts in the Foreign Office to evacuate everyone who had been granted permission to come to the UK. They also asked that the Home Office ensure its policy on Palestinians from Gaza was in line with refugees from other countries applying for family reunification visas.
Middle East Eye had contacted the Home Office for comment.
Broader Policy Shifts
Andy Burnham apologized for the Starmer government's response to Israel's genocide in Gaza shortly before he became prime minister last month. Burnham said, "I know many people feel that at the start of Israel's military action in Gaza, my party didn't get it right, and I am sorry about that. The response has too often not been good enough. We need to do better." He called the "unbearable suffering" in Gaza a "scar on our collective conscience." He also criticized Israel's ever-expanding occupation of territory in Gaza, saying, "We've got to do more to put pressure on the Israeli government."
Britain operated hundreds of surveillance flights over Gaza during Israel's genocide and shared intelligence with Israel, which the government insisted was for "hostage rescue" purposes. The Starmer government imposed a partial arms embargo on Israel in 2024 and recognized Palestinian statehood last September.
Why This Matters:
The suspension of family reunion applications leaves Palestinian families separated by policy, not law — children and parents who meet the legal criteria for reunification but can't leave Gaza because the Home Office won't process their cases. The gap between the government's stated commitment to humanitarian relief and its actual practice is stark. Two hundred and seventy children remain stranded despite the medical evacuation pledge. Mahmoud Mansi and Obaida Atwan met a prime minister who promised action; months later, they're still waiting. This isn't a question of security or resources — it's about whether Britain will apply its own laws consistently, or whether Palestinian families will continue to be treated as exceptions. The letter from 85 MPs signals growing impatience with a policy that prioritizes bureaucratic caution over the reunification of families who've already been vetted and approved.