NHS urged to ban pro-Palestinian badges amid antisemitism concerns

Lord Mann was commissioned in October 2025 to lead a rapid review into NHS antisemitism following reports that racism is rampant in the health service. As part of the review, Mann heard that Jewish people in the NHS experience “routine ostracism”, with Jewish staff being the only religious group in the latest NHS Staff Survey for whom discrimination from colleagues is rising rather than falling, resulting in some considering leaving the NHS.

He found that antisemitism extends to patients, too, as some Jewish patients reported they did not wish to present for treatment or put off receiving important care.

"It is well-evidenced that racism is persistent in the NHS," Mann said, adding that "the case for taking action to combat antisemitism and other forms of racism in the NHS is clear."

The review includes 36 recommendations that the NHS should take to tackle antisemitism. Only the most pertinent ones are highlighted in this article.

Lord Mann agreed with this assessment regarding the NHS. He noted that, on registering with a GP, ethnicity is captured, but religion is not. Mann said this may result in a negative impact on service delivery or health screening for conditions Jewish people might be more vulnerable to, for example, Tay-Sachs disease or breast cancer.

He argued that Jewish health outcomes might be improved if the NHS acts to ensure it has the right data to understand the community it is serving. "Appropriate data collection is essential. Screening based on Jewish - and indeed other - ethnicity criteria could save lives and give improved health-related outcomes, including patient access to healthcare services. This is particularly urgent in women’s health and maternity services."

He therefore recommended that the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care consider including Jewish and Sikh as ethnicities in data collection [Recommendation 2].

Another of Mann's recommendations focuses on how abuses of freedom of expression can contradict feelings of patient safety. While freedom of expression is protected under UK law, Mann said that "a patient failing to present for or seek care because of their avoidable perception of an NHS service, of a perceived bias of a medical practitioner or other employee, is not acceptable."

He said that statements such as ‘Free Palestine’ or ‘I love Israel’ coming from "public facing NHS owned profiles might, in of themselves, be a barrier to patients presenting."

There have been many examples of where NHS staff have been reported for wearing “Free Palestine” badges. UK Lawyers for Israel association has argued that seeing Palestinian symbolism can make Jewish patients "hesitant to reveal their own nationality or religion."

Mann acknowledged these incidents and stressed the need for the NHS to improve guidance regarding what is acceptable for its staff in terms of uniform, official social media, meeting rooms, digital backgrounds, or equipment such as laptops or iPads.

There are a number of NHS trusts that already do not permit the wearing of political badges (Shrewsbury and Telford), the wearing of any item of clothing with a political message (Wolverhampton, Sheffield Partnership), or wearing a uniform to political rallies (Sherwood Forest, Doncaster and Bassetlaw).

Mann recommended that this be rolled out across the board [Recommendation 8]

"In order to report racism, one must be able to define it."

Mann took issue with the fact that the UK health and care system and professional regulators currently use multiple definitions of racism.

"This is not a sustainable or acceptable approach, and this inconsistency should be addressed," he said.

He recommended [Recommendation 10] that the Department of Health and Social Care work across the health and care regulators, including the Care Quality Commission, to secure an agreed approach on definitions of racism and religious hatred.

He suggested that the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism sit alongside NHS-wide codes of practice, other definitions that the NHS chooses to adopt, and guidance for reporting and investigating incidents of racism and religious hatred.

Regarding wider governance and oversight, Mann concluded that the current arrangements between the General Medical Council (GMC) and the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) are not working as they should.

"The MPTS has failed to evaluate where it does not have sufficient expertise to determine cases concerning allegations of antisemitism and has failed to consult appropriately, or taken too long to do so, and in doing so has lost the confidence of many in the Jewish community," he said.

He also said concerns were raised during the review about the decision-making process and outcomes in cases that were brought to MPTS regarding allegations of antisemitic rhetoric and support for proscribed terrorist organizations.

Both the Jewish Medical Association (JMA) and the British Islamic Medical Association (BIMA) submitted evidence to the review and expressed concern about the way that cases of antisemitism and other forms of racism and religious discrimination are handled by the system and professional regulators.

Mann recommended that the Department of Health and Social Care, NHS England, and the Care Quality Commission work with the health and care professional regulators to develop a clear, single set of national guidance for employers regarding discrimination incidents [Recommendation 18]. He also asked that health and care professional regulators work together to develop communications for patients and the public to raise awareness of what is being done to tackle antisemitism and other forms of racism.

Outside of the NHS proper, Mann said he was "shocked" at some of the examples shared regarding conduct in medical schools.

He asked that all universities, including their medical schools, review as a matter of urgency the recommendations of the All-Party report on best practice in higher education, the report from the Union of Jewish Students ‘Time for Change, and the Universities UK guidance on tackling antisemitism.

In the same way that antisemitism in the NHS should be an employment matter, Lord Mann recommended that the Medical Schools Council leadership should undertake anti-racism training, specifically including antisemitism, and work with Lord Mann’s offices on a communication to all medical schools about tackling racism, including antisemitism, to be updated as required [Recommendation 29].

The government has agreed to act on Mann's recommendations and has promised to do the following: publish a new NHS Staff Standard focused on tackling racism, setting minimum expectations for how organisations must prevent, respond to, and learn from incidents of racism; mandatory anti-racism training, specifically including antisemitism, for the chairs and chief executives of all NHS provider trusts within six months; create clear national guidance on uniform and NHS-issued equipment; and setting out a single set of national guidance for employers regarding tackling discrimination incidents.

Jim Mackey, Chief Executive of NHS England, said "We accept all of the recommendations in Lord Mann’s review and as a leadership community, we will act swiftly to implement them."

"Jewish people have to be confident that they will receive the same treatment as everyone else, at all times in all situations," said Lord John Mann. "If people feel, as they do, that some have to hide their identity as patients or suffer in silence as staff, then the universality of the NHS is fundamentally breached.

"The NHS as an employer must act as a responsible and inclusive employer and take the responsibility of making its employment and service to patients one that the entirety of the country, including our Jewish community, can feel and see is one that is for them as well as everybody else."

Secretary of State for Health, James Murray, said, "I know that Jewish people – and everyone experiencing discrimination – need action, not words. Together with NHS England, we will waste no time in setting these recommendations in motion to build a health service that lives up to its values."

The Jewish Medical Association UK Chair said: "The Jewish Medical Association welcomes Lord Mann’s report and recommendations, including the thoughtful approach for embedding cultural awareness throughout the NHS and for ensuring accountability for protection from discrimination, which will be of benefit to Jewish patients and staff as well as those of other minority groups."

Community Security Trust said that the evidence that some Jewish staff and patients are worried about identifying themselves is "troubling and underlines the urgency of this work."

CST therefore welcomed the focus on stronger accountability, clearer guidance, and training.