Thank you to all who have contacted me to raise concerns about the Economic Activity of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) Bill, also referred to as the ‘Anti-BDS Bill’.

I believe that this Bill is not fit for purpose and will not address the problem it seeks to solve. This poorly drafted piece of legislation risks further inflaming tensions and creating fresh legal disputes, which could, in turn, harm affected vulnerable communities in the UK. Because of this, I voted against this Bill when it was presented to Parliament for its Third Reading on Wednesday 10^th January.

I have multiple concerns about this Bill, with perhaps my greatest concern being that it treats the Occupied Palestinian Territories as though they were in effect the same as the State of Israel. This runs directly counter to decades of British diplomacy by Conservative and Labour governments alike, which differentiates between the two and supports a two-state solution. I fear that this Bill fundamentally undermines the UK’s commitment to the two-state solution at a time when it needs to be stronger than ever.

I am surprised that the Conservatives would breach the UN Security Council’s Resolution 2334 – a resolution they drafted and voted for in 2016 – which requires every UN member to distinguish between the territory of the State of Israel and the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967.

I am also concerned that this Bill provides the Secretary of State with unprecedented powers of enforcement through a ‘gagging order’ which would prevent an elected local government official from even commenting on policy matters and powers to take action against councils before any breach of the legislation will have taken place.

Furthermore, due to the Bill’s vague and non-specific language, it could have significant effects on the ability of communities to support oppressed groups across the world. The Uyghur minority in China, who are victims of grave and systemic human rights abuses, are one of many groups who may be severely impacted by this Bill, as has been outlined in a letter from Uyghur exiles to the UK Government linked here.

I believe public bodies should be able to take ethical decisions, but these must be consistent with their investment and procurement policy, within a framework based on principles and standards that are applied equally to all countries rather than by singling out individual nations.

Rishi Sunak should have listened to the advice given to him in July by his Foreign Secretary, which warned that the Bill could breach the UK’s international commitments, and that if the bill goes ahead as drafted, adversaries such as Russia ‘will use it against us’.

Labour proposed a reasoned amendment to the Bill, which highlighted its many issues. However, this amendment was rejected by the Government and the Bill was passed in its current form despite Labour voting against it by 282 votes to 235.

You can read Labour’s proposed reasoned amendment in full below:

That this House, while opposing any discrimination or prejudice in the economic activities of public bodies, believing that all such bodies must act without bias or selectivity when making ethical decisions on procurement and investment and recognising the impact selective and biased campaigns have had on the Jewish community in particular, declines to give a Third Reading to the Economic Activity of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) Bill because it does not effectively address the problem it rightly seeks to solve, is incompatible with international law and UN Security Council Resolutions, risks undermining support for groups around the world facing persecution, includes needlessly broad and sweeping draconian powers while placing unprecedented restrictions on public bodies to express a view on current and proposed policy and represents a major departure from the UK Government’s long-established diplomatic position on the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Golan Heights, in a way that undermines the UK’s future credibility and capacity to support diplomatic negotiations towards a just and lasting peace in Israel and Palestine based on a two-state solution, at a time when consistent support for that objective is more important than ever.