Met Police reverses decision to close Gaza war-crimes referral against British nationals

The Metropolitan Police has withdrawn its decision not to investigate allegations that British nationals committed war crimes while serving with the Israeli army in Gaza, following a legal challenge brought by a British-Palestinian human rights campaigner.

The reversal means that the force’s previous decision no longer stands and its War Crimes Team will conduct a fresh assessment of the evidence relating to four identifiable British nationals.

British-Palestinian campaigner Lubna Speitan challenged the decision with the assistance of the Public Interest Law Centre (PILC). Lawyers sent the Metropolitan Police a detailed letter before action threatening judicial-review proceedings over its handling of the case.

The original referral was submitted by PILC and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) on April, 2025. It alleged that ten British nationals had committed war crimes and crimes against humanity while taking part in Israeli military operations in Gaza.

PILC challenged that conclusion, arguing that the police had failed to consider the full range of investigative avenues available to them and had effectively demanded evidence capable of securing a conviction before opening an investigation.

The force has now formally withdrawn its decision and agreed to carry out a fresh scoping exercise. Such an exercise allows the War Crimes Team, which sits within the Metropolitan Police’s Counter Terrorism Command, SO15, to determine whether the evidence justifies a full criminal investigation. 

PILC described the reversal as an important procedural step, stressing that the original refusal no longer stands and that the allegations must now be reconsidered afresh.

“We welcome the Metropolitan Police’s withdrawal of its previous decision and [its decision] to undertake a fresh scoping exercise,” said PILC legal director Paul Heron.

READ: UK police looking into foreign fighters’ war crimes with Israeli forces in Gaza

“This is an important and responsible step which recognises that the earlier decision should no longer stand.”

“These allegations concern some of the gravest crimes known to international law,” Heron added. “Where there are identifiable British nationals alleged to have participated in such crimes, it is essential that investigative decisions are taken on the fullest evidential basis possible.”

Heron went on the explain that the goal of the litigation was never intended to be “for its own sake,”  and that the aim is to “work constructively with the Metropolitan Police and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights to identify further evidence wherever it exists and to ensure that every reasonable investigative avenue is properly explored before any fresh decision is reached.”

Human rights lawyer Michael Mansfield KC, who supported the referral, said that allegations of war crimes must be examined without regard to the nationality of the suspects or the political sensitivities surrounding Israel’s assault on Gaza.

“The rule of law depends upon its equal application,” Mansfield stressed. “The Metropolitan Police’s decision to revisit its earlier conclusion is therefore to be welcomed. It provides an opportunity for a fresh and independent assessment based upon all available evidence. That is precisely what justice requires.”