Priests Against Genocide deliver letter to Prime Minister, after meeting MPs, peers and doctors back from Gaza

Sep 24th, 2026

l-r: Canon Pat Browne, Fr Bernard Akoeso, Fr Martin Kershaw, Deacon Paul Christian

A delegation from Priests Against Genocide hand-delivered today a letter to Prime Minister Andy Burnham, renewing their call for the UK Government to take further, more decisive action over Gaza, the West Bank and southern Lebanon.

The letter follows an earlier one sent on 19 August 2026, to which the group say they have not yet received a formal acknowledgement, and a copy of which they have enclosed again for ease of reference.

While the group welcomes the Government's recent decision, taken with Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband, to restrict trade with illegal Israeli settlements, they raise three points for the Prime Minister's attention:

1. that such trade represents only around 1% of total UK-Israel trade;

2. that the UK arms trade takes place overwhelmingly with the Government of Israel itself, not with the settlements;

3. and that Israel's response - closing its Consulate in Jerusalem - in practice penalises Palestinians, who can no longer obtain UK visas there, while Israeli citizens require no visa to visit Britain.

The priests warn that the measure risks shielding the Israeli state from scrutiny rather than holding it to account for what they describe as genocide in Gaza, apartheid in the West Bank, and ethnic cleansing in southern Lebanon.

They argue that, as with the apartheid-era South in Africa, only comprehensive boycott, divestment and sanctions measures are likely to change the course of events, and they urge the Government not to treat the settlements measure as sufficient in itself.

The letter comes after a meeting on 15 September 2026, when a delegation of eight priests and one deacon from Priests Against Genocide met at the Houses of Parliament with seven MPs and four peers, for what the group described as a lively and informative discussion. Those taking part included Sir Edward Leigh (Father of the House), MPs Ian Byrne, Richard Burgon, Imran Hussain, Mary Glindon, Brendan O'Hara and Jeremy Corbyn, and Baroness Sheila Hollins, Baroness Gloria Hooper, Baroness Anna Healy and Lord Paul Murphy.

For the latter part of the meeting, the delegation was joined by three doctors recently returned from working in Gaza - two orthopaedic surgeons and one A&E consultant - who gave first-hand accounts of conditions on the ground and the impact on Gaza's healthcare system.

Canon Pat Browne, coordinating the group's correspondence, said: "We were grateful for such a well-attended and candid conversation with parliamentarians from across the political spectrum, and humbled to hear directly from doctors who have just returned from Gaza. Today we are asking the Prime Minister, once again, to match the courage of that first step on the settlements with the comprehensive action this crisis demands."

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The full letter text follow:

Dear Prime Minister,

May we offer you and your family our condolences on the death of your father recently and assure you of our prayers for him and you all.

We wrote to you on 19 August 2026, on behalf of Priests Against Genocide, to set out our concerns regarding the situation in Palestine. We have not yet received an acknowledgement of that letter, and enclose a copy again for ease of reference.

In it, we raised three requests. We are grateful that you and the Foreign Secretary, Ed Miliband, have acted on the second of these, and we welcome it as an encouraging first step.

We would, however, respectfully draw your attention to the following points:

1. Trade between the UK and the illegal settlements represents only around 1% of total UK- Israel trade.

2. The arms trade takes place overwhelmingly with the Government of Israel itself, not with the settlements.

3. Israel's response to the UK's measures was to close its Consulate in Jerusalem - a step that in practice penalises Palestinians, who will no longer be able to obtain visas to travel to the UK, while Israeli citizens require no visa to visit Britain and can, in any case, access consular services through the Embassy in Tel Aviv.

We recognise the communicative and symbolic value of this decision, but we are concerned thatit risks shifting attention and responsibility away from the Israeli state itself and onto the settlements - trade with which should, in truth, never have taken place, given their illegality under international law even before the current crisis.

Our fear is that this episode may end up shielding the government of Israel from scrutiny, rather than holding it to account for what continues day by day: genocide in Gaza, apartheid in the West Bank, and ethnic cleansing in southern Lebanon.History suggests that only comprehensive measures - of the kind the world once applied to apartheid South Africa through boycott, divestment and sanctions - are capable of changing this course.

We therefore urge your government not to regard this measure as sufficient in itself. It is a welcome first step, but one that will achieve little unless it is followed by further, more decisive action.

May God bless and guide you with His Spirit of Wisdom in the decisions that lie ahead of you in the weeks and months to come.

With our prayers and best wishes and on behalf of members of Priests Against Genocide.

Yours sincerely

Canon Pat Browne, London, patbrowne@rcdow.org.uk

Father Bernard Akoeso, London, bernardakoeso@rcdow.org.uk

Father Britto Belevendran, Essex, frbrittobelevendran@brcdt.org

Father Denis Blackledge SJ, Dorset, wdb@jesuits.net

Deacon Paul Christian, London, paulchristian@rcdow.org.uk

Father John Deehan, London, johndeehan@rcdow.org.uk

Father Gabriel Dolan SPS, Fermanagh, gdolan54@gmail.com

Father Philip Dyer-Perry Staines-upon-Thames, pdyerperry@rcdow.org.uk

Father Anton Fernandopulle, Liverpool, a.fernandopulle@rcaol.org.uk