More than 85 British Members of Parliament have formally expressed deep concern to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, alleging that the government is actively obstructing the evacuation of dozens of Palestinian women and children from Gaza. Labour MP Kim Johnson initiated the letter, which garnered signatures from a broad spectrum of parties on Thursday.
Last September, the Home Office unilaterally suspended refugee family reunion applications. It promised new, stricter rules, but these regulations have yet to materialize. Consequently, Palestinian families in Gaza, who had applied to join immediate relatives in Britain before the suspension, find themselves trapped and unable to proceed.
“Family reunification should never be treated as a political bargaining chip,” MP Johnson stated unequivocally. She emphasized that for families enduring the horrors of Gaza, such reunification represents “a lifeline – often the only hope of safety and the chance to hold their loved ones again.” Johnson 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.”
Discriminatory Policies
The letter was signed by numerous Labour MPs, including prominent figures like Richard Burgon, Diane Abbott, Clive Lewis, John McDonnell, and Abtisam Mohamed. Green MPs Sian Berry, Carla Denyer, and Hannah Spencer also affixed their names, alongside members of the parliamentary Independent Alliance, Liberal Democrat, and Scottish National Party MPs.
Palestinians residing in the UK were informed by the Foreign Office that agreements had been made to evacuate their families from Gaza. However, lawyers report a disturbing pattern: the Home Office appears to be refusing to provide the necessary onward travel assurance. It's also reportedly using legal challenges to block these families from entering the UK, adopting a demonstrably harsher line with Palestinian families than with refugees from other countries seeking family reunification visas.
Furthermore, the government's medical evacuation scheme, which committed to bringing 300 children “in need of life saving and life changing medical care” from Gaza to the UK, remains unfulfilled. The MPs' letter highlighted the cases of 12-year-old Mahmoud Mansi and 15-year-old Obaida Atwan. These children were evacuated from Gaza and met former Prime Minister Keir Starmer last December, who pledged to reunite them with their remaining family. Months have passed without any further action.
UK Complicity in Occupation
The MPs urged Home Secretary Mahmood to urgently reinstate the family reunification process for Palestinians. They also called for collaboration with the Foreign Office to evacuate everyone who has been granted permission to come to the UK. Crucially, they demanded that the Home Office ensure its policy on Palestinians from Gaza aligns with that applied to refugees from other nations applying for family reunification visas.
Last month, shortly before becoming prime minister, Andy Burnham apologized for the Starmer government's initial response to “Israel’s genocide in Gaza.” Burnham admitted, “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.” He conceded, “The response has too often not been good enough. We need to do better,” describing the “unbearable suffering” in Gaza as a “scar on our collective conscience.” He also directly criticized “Israel's ever-expanding occupation of territory in Gaza,” calling for “more pressure on the Israeli government.”
Britain's role in the ongoing violence is not limited to diplomatic statements. The UK operated hundreds of surveillance flights over Gaza during “Israel's genocide,” sharing intelligence with Israel. The government maintained this intelligence sharing was for “hostage rescue” purposes. In 2024, the Starmer government imposed a partial arms embargo on Israel and recognized Palestinian statehood last September, actions that stand in stark contrast to its earlier complicity.