Name of constituent
10 July 2025
xxxxxxxx MP
House of Commons
London SW1A 0AA
As you probably know, a group of 29 protesters were arrested for silently holding up placards saying “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action” in front of the statue of Mahatma Gandhi on Saturday 5th July 2005.
Among them was an 83-year old retired priest, Rev Sue Parfitt, a former Government lawyer, an emeritus professor and health care workers.
These peaceful protesters each face up to 14 years in prison under the Terrorism Act 2005 for supporting an organisation that had been characterised as “terrorist” according to the extremely broad and unusual definition of terrorism given in the Terrorism Act 2000. The organisation was proscribed under that Act on that day by a vote in Parliament (a net 356 MPs voted For the proscription, a little over 50% of MPs), alongside two genuinely terrorist groups who definitely deserve proscription.
Terrorism is usually defined as violence directed against civilians for political ends. International Law adds a phrase (“by non-state actors”), but this is just a device added by politicians to excuse politicians.
Netanyahu is clearly prosecuting a terrorist campaign, attacking civilians by the tens of thousands, and the British Government is aiding and abetting his war crimes by selling arms to him and supplying surveillance data to assist his targeting. There is a strong case to be made that our own Government is an accomplice in war crimes by providing arms to Netanyahu.
It is clearly perverse that peaceful protesters against terrorism should be arrested by agents of a Government that is arguably an accomplice to that state terrorism, and charged with terrorism. This is an unreasonable situation that has been brought about by a definition of terrorism in the Terror Act 2000 that shows a lack of due diligence, and the application of the Act to Palestine Action is almost certainly the result of undue influence exerted on Ministers by lobbyists for a foreign power. The evidence for this claim is set out in the Appendix to this letter.
It is clearly wrong for MPs and Ministers, to receive significant amounts of money from corporations and lobby groups, especially from such groups who act on behalf of foreign states, particularly if those states are committing criminal acts.
Although they may not be your constituents, I ask you please to be aware of the situation of the July 5th arrestees, and to take an interest in their case.
I ask too that you confer within your party and with MPs from other political parties who are mindful of the grotesque injustice that is evolving under the Terror Act 2000, to see how the wording of that Act can be amended to be brought in line with the consensus definition of terrorism as violence directed at civilians for political ends.
Third, I ask you please to confer within your party and with other MPs of good will and clear thinking how we can block donations and from corporations and lobby groups, and especially those from outside the UK, and particularly those associated with States who are committing criminal acts.
With many thanks and good wishes
Your constituent
(Sign and add name and address)
APPENDIX TO LETTER ON GANDHI STATUE ARRESTS
Donations to the present Home Secretary from pro-Israel sources
2015 £5,000 donation to Yvette Cooper (now Foreign Secretary) for her leadership bid campaign from Red Capital Private (associated with Jonathan Mendelsohn, chair of Labour Friends of Israel (LFI)
2020-23 Yvette Cooper received and unspecified part of a £210,000 fund donated by pro-Israel individuals to Labour MPs
2020-23 Yvette Cooper benefitted from part of £64,000+ worth of hospitality on fact finding trips from LFI
2020-23 Yvette Cooper (YC) may have been one of the 41 Labour MPs who received £280,000+ from Israel Lobby sources
2023-24 £300,000-600,000 donated by pro-Israel lobby to 13 members of Starmer’s Cabinet, including YC
Reeves (£194K), Starmer (£50K), Nandy (£12K) and Kendall (£2.5K) have received larger direct grants than YC.
The duty of MPs is to represent their constituents and to work for their welfare.
Many ordinary people are distressed by the violence of Netanyahu’s bombing campaign that has killed 50,000+ people, mainly women and children, injured many more, and his starvation policy.
You GovPolls at the end of June show that the sympathies of 30% of UK citizens lie more with the Palestinians, nearly twice the 17% of sympathies that lie more with the Israelis. 30% have sympathies for “neither” (though that might include ‘both”).
The fact that Government sympathies are so at odds with the sympathies of ordinary people almost certainly reflects the influence of the money that they have received.
Democracy is damaged if there is a widespread perception that MPs and Minister can be bought. MPs should not accept donations from any person or business who does not hold a registered and functional address in their constituency. Donations from sources that can be traced back to foreign powers are not acceptable.
The matter of political donations, and their cap levels, must be reformed as a matter of urgency.
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