First day no 'political badges' around Israel conflict to be worn by UK's health service staff uniforms

Following a major report on antisemitism, former Labour MP Lord Mann announced that all political badges would be banned from Britain's health service staff uniforms by the end of the day on Tuesday.

The issue has been the subject of months of wrangling, with bans on political pins, lanyards, and stickers repeatedly imposed and contested. However, Lord Mann remains adamant that such items will soon be a thing of the past.

“By the end of today there will be no political badges in the NHS... I expect that by the end of the day,” he told the Jewish Chronicle on Tuesday. As the government’s independent adviser on antisemitism, Mann said that NHS staff including doctors and nurses have been wearing badges relating to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict “without thinking through the implications,” and said the matter “needs sorting and it needs sorting quickly and it needs systems to do it.” 

The report was presented at an event including rabbis, deputies and Board President Phil Rosenberg. At the launch Mann told attendees that he had “heard and felt” evidence that “a small number of extremists are targeting people across the Jewish community in a way that can be – and sometimes is – life-changing”.

After expressing his concern that the nature of extremism “has changed” he urged: “We’re ceding too much ground to the extremists as if they are large in number, and there is no evidence that they are large in numbers,” warning that some are “very well organised.”

Mann was to meet NHS leaders on Tuesday to discuss the recommendations of the report, and said he was confident the solutions and practical measures he proposed were “deliverable.” The outcome of the report included a recommendation that mandatory antisemitism training should be given across all NHS trusts.

“We can’t expect people to be able to challenge antisemitism if they don’t know what it is, and we can’t presume they know what it is,” the antisemitism tsar told the JC.

The report was commissioned by the Board of Deputies and co-authored by Mann and former Conservative MP Dame Penny Mordaunt. According to Mann, the report focuses on practical steps that can be implemented. He said much of it “doesn't require legislation, it needs action – and that action includes from the Jewish community,” and described legislation as “a distraction.”

Seeking a consistent and recognized standard in antisemitism training, Mann recommended a certified qualification in the subject. He acknowledged that the burden for developing the training would end up with the Jewish community, saying it was a “Jewish community issue to resolve.” However, he added that he was, “more than willing to assist in that process”.

The report is based on a philosophy of avoiding legislation and harnessing the natural incentive in the Jewish community to tackle the problem. “The Jewish community needs to be better organised and employers need to step up to the mark, but you can’t legislate to make employers step up to the mark,” Mann insisted. Instead, he said “good leadership” would be key to implementing the report’s findings, giving the example of the recent government decision to allocate £3 million [$3.9 million] in contracts for Holocaust and antisemitism education.

Mann’s confidence that the leadership and training approach worked over and above a legislative route was buoyed by the successful rollout of antisemitism education among soccer players: “The majority of English footballers have been trained up,” he said. “We have found no resistance whatsoever,” adding, “If we can do it in sport, we can do it... in any other sector.”

The British Medical Journal reported in June that three NHS workers had taken legal action against Barts Health NHS Trust in London concerning the uniform and dress code policy banning political symbols, and there have been strong objections from those who believe the ban to be discriminatory. However, others argue that such symbols are ineffective in any case.

One doctor wrote, “Wearing a badge at work is going to do precisely zero to help Palestinian civilians; it seems to be exactly what the term virtue signaling was designed to describe. It's likely to upset some people, it's not going to change anyone's opinion on the complex topic, and you're not employed because of your specialist knowledge of Middle Eastern geopolitical issues. Change your Facebook profile pic and be done with it.”

Dame Penny Mordaunt who co-authored the report said it was “in the government’s hands.” She announced: “This is going on the prime minister’s desk, and there is nothing in it that can’t be delivered – and substantial progress made – within 12 months.” She added that the issue of tackling antisemitism was “all of our responsibilities,” saying, “If we do not get it right, we all suffer,” and stipulating the recommendations should be carried out throughout the whole of the UK, “across the four nations."