Hundreds of academics and lawyers urge Burnham to lift Palestine Action ban
More than 250 academics and lawyers have written to British Prime Minister Andy Burnham urging him to end military cooperation with Israel and de-proscribe direct action group Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation.
The letter, dated 25 August and seen by Middle East Eye, was signed by prominent figures including barrister Michael Mansfield, Oxford historian Avi Shlaim, Defend Our Juries co-founder Tim Crosland and Exeter University academic Laleh Khalili.
"Despite Israel’s ongoing perpetration of flagrant war crimes, the UK government continues to provide it with military, economic and diplomatic support," the letter reads.
"Rather than change course and stop aiding and abetting Israel, the UK Home Office and its judicial system have chosen to punish activists who oppose war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.
"Rather than put a stop to the most grievous state crime of the twenty-first century, our government has chosen to impose increasingly authoritarian restrictions upon political protest in general and upon Palestinian solidarity in particular."
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The letter goes on to say: "As legal scholars, practitioners and public intellectuals concerned with questions of ethics, justice and law, we understand the world-historical importance of the 1948 Genocide Convention that obliges states 'to prevent and punish genocide.
"We respect and commend citizens who refuse to stand by as mere spectators while their government fails to honour its legal obligations."
The letter asks Burnham to "back up" his apology for the Labour leadership's early support for Israel's war on Gaza "with actions that will underscore the UK’s respect for international law, freedom of speech and assembly".
It asks the government to end all military and security cooperation with Israel, including all arms exports, surveillance flights, intelligence exchange, training and joint operations.
It further demands that the government "de-proscribe Palestine Action and assert the right of all defendants, in all political protest cases, to make a full defence and present full evidence to the jury".
The letter also asks the government to support South Africa’s case against Israel at the International Court of Justice, as well as the International Criminal Court in pushing for the execution of arrest warrants against Israeli officials.
'Matter of urgency'
The Labour government proscribed Palestine Action in July 2025, meaning that expressing support or membership of the direct action group is a criminal offence that could lead to a prison sentence of up to 14 years.
Thousands of people have been arrested since the ban came into effect for holding placards reading: "I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action."
Shortly before he became prime minister in July, Burnham set the tone by apologising for the Starmer leadership's early support for Israel's war on Gaza and refusal to back a ceasefire in 2023 and early 2024.
Since then, he has come under significant pressure from Labour backbenchers to ban trade with illegal Israeli settlements and take other strong positions on issues in the Middle East.
Earlier this month, MEE reported that Burnham's government is poised to announce a raft of new policies on Israel in September, including a ban on goods from illegal Israeli settlements.
Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband in particular is pushing for stronger measures and has been consulting a range of civil society organisations, MEE understands.
Miliband said last Wednesday that the government would announce "measures" against Israel over new settlement construction east of Jerusalem that would effectively cut the occupied West Bank in two.
The letter to Burnham reads: "Given the catastrophic scale of the emergency that confronts us, we hope that your new government might now address these imperatives as a matter of urgency, and we request that you might get back to us within a month’s time, by the end of September."
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