Prime Minister Keir Starmer has ordered a nationwide crackdown on anti-Semitism in Britain’s National Health Service, unveiling plans to prohibit staff from wearing Palestinian badges and other emblems in support of Hamas while on duty.
Speaking at the Community Security Trust, which safeguards Jewish communities nationwide, Starmer said the reforms are aimed at restoring “respect and equality” across Britain’s public sector.
“The discrimination staff and patients have faced because of their race or religion goes against everything our country stands for,” he said. “The NHS was built on the principle that everyone should be treated equally and with respect, and I am determined to restore this to the heart of the health service.”
Health Secretary Wes Streeting said he was “appalled” by recent incidents involving NHS doctors.
“There can be no place in our health service for staff who use anti-Semitic or hateful language,” he said. “Patients must have complete confidence that those treating them are motivated solely by care, not by prejudice or politics.”
In a statement Friday regarding the new policy, Downing Street said Lord John Mann, the government’s independent adviser on anti-Semitism, has been asked to examine disciplinary systems across the NHS and recommend reforms to “root out the problem and ensure perpetrators are held to account.”
According to The Guardian, NHS England will update its professional standards to align with the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of anti-Semitism, which the UK adopted in 2016. Guidance will aim to balance religious expression with patient comfort and workplace neutrality.
Starmer’s crackdown comes amid record levels of religious hate crime in Britain. Government statistics released last week show Jews remain the most frequently targeted group, with more than 2,000 incidents recorded in the past year. Officials say the new dress code preserves religious freedom — such as wearing a Star of David — yet bars staff from turning uniforms into political billboards.
CST CEO Mark Gardner applauded the long-overdue reforms, calling the measures “vital and immediate,” but warned that the government must still confront the ideology that fuels anti-Semitism.
The Jewish Medical Association voiced similar concern, saying antisemitism in medical settings has left Jewish professionals and patients “profoundly distressed and intimidated.” However, the group welcomed Lord Mann’s review of medical regulators, calling it essential to eliminating “a toxic culture for Jews” that has taken hold in parts of the health service.
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