In antisemitism crackdown, UK will bar NHS workers from wearing political badges

Britain’s National Health Service will ban staff from wearing political badges, including pro-Palestinian symbols, under new rules aimed at fighting antisemitism within the health system.

Health Secretary James Murray said Thursday that the NHS will accept the recommendation made in an independent review by Lord John Mann.

The guidance will be published “shortly,” he said.

The announcement came shortly after a Jewish doctor in London told ITV news that colleagues had told him they would not treat patients who come from Israel even if their life was in danger. The UK’s Department of Health called the comments “shocking” and said that “it is unacceptable that people do not currently feel safe working in and using the health service,” according to The Jewish Chronicle.

Mann was commissioned in October 2025 to lead a review into how the NHS and its regulatory system report and handle antisemitism and other forms of racism. The report was ordered “in the wake of a series of horrific attacks on the Jewish community across the country, including shocking examples of intimidation and abuse within the health service,” the Department of Health and Social Care said in a press release.

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Between October 2023 and July 2025, 99 antisemitic incidents were recorded in the healthcare sector, according to a report published last year by the Antisemitism Policy Trust.

Mann’s review found that Jewish staff in parts of the NHS report “routine ostracism” and increasing discrimination from colleagues, leading some Jewish employees to consider leaving the health service.

It also identified concerns among Jewish patients, some of whom said they delayed or avoided seeking treatment due to fears of discrimination or a lack of cultural safety in healthcare settings.

Under the reforms, the NHS and the Department of Health and Social Care will introduce mandatory antisemitism training for senior leaders, as well as updated equality, diversity and human rights training for around 1.5 million staff, with specific content on antisemitism and anti-Muslim hostility.

New national guidance will also be issued on uniform policy, the use of NHS-issued equipment, and how trusts should respond to racist behavior from both staff and the public.

It is not yet clear what symbols will be barred under the new law.

A new NHS Staff Standard focused on tackling racism will set minimum expectations for prevention, response and learning across organizations.

Speaking to journalists, Murray said that allowing staff members to display political symbols in medical settings risks undermining trust and deterring some patients from seeking care.

“When you have a situation where political views can be brought into the NHS, that can cause Jewish patients to think twice about whether to go to the NHS for their treatment,” he told local media.

The government said it will work with regulators to align definitions and approaches to racism across the system. Ministers will report progress to Parliament by October 2026, with a full update within 12 months of publication.

The Board of Deputies of British Jews welcomed the initiative, noting that it had long pushed for many of the measures included in the report.

“Our public services must set the standard for confronting anti-Jewish hatred and discrimination, and we must ensure the NHS, one of our proudest national institutions, is safe and welcoming for every staff member or service user, regardless of faith or ethnicity,” Board of Deputies Vice President Karen Newman said in a statement.

The Jewish Leadership Council also applauded the report, calling it “an important moment in dealing with this crisis at the heart of a vital British institution.” It warned, however, that regulators must take responsibility for fighting hatred alongside the NHS.

“We have seen doctors describe hospitals as cesspits of ‘Jewish supremacy’ and praise Hamas as ‘legends,’ with the regulators and tribunals not taking substantive action,” JLI said in a statement. “While the NHS must take responsibility for the actions of its employees, the regulators must also wake up to their role and accept the recommendations on them.”

The Jewish Medical Association reacted warmly as well, noting Mann’s “thoughtful approach for embedding cultural awareness throughout the NHS and for ensuring accountability.”