NHS staff should not wear political badges at work, says antisemitism review

NHS staff should not wear political badges at work or take part in political marches while wearing uniform, the head of a review into antisemitism in the health service has said.

Lord John Mann said badges professing support for Palestine or Israel should not be worn while people are at work in the health service, describing it as “a problem” in the NHS.

Mann’s report found that Jewish staff were the only religious group in the latest NHS staff survey for whom discrimination from colleagues is rising rather than falling, resulting in some considering leaving the NHS altogether. A Jewish medic this week told an ITV special news report into antisemitism that fellow NHS workers claimed they would refuse to treat Israeli patients in accident and emergency wards.

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Additionally, some Jewish patients also reported not wishing to present for treatment or putting off receiving important care.

Mann’s suggested reforms include delivering mandatory antisemitism training for NHS leaders and introducing clear national guidance on uniform and responding to racist behaviour.

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The government today has said it “is clear that all racism in the NHS is abhorrent”, has called for NHS employers to be “the first line of defence” in taking “urgent action” and that “reforms will protect Muslim, Black and minority ethnic, and Jewish staff and patients alike”.

A soon-to-be-published new set of staff standards will better hold Trusts to account, including one on tackling racism that will set minimum expectations for how organisations must prevent, respond to, and learn from incidents of racism.

Previously Labour MP for Bassetlaw, Lord Mann, who has served as advisor on antisemitism to successive governments, said: “Jewish people have to be confident that they will receive the same treatment as everyone else, at all times in all situations. If people feel, as they do, that some have to hide their identity as patients or suffer in silence as staff, then the universality of the NHS is fundamentally breached.”

He added that the solutions “are simple but require a consistency of approach across the whole of the NHS and clear leadership at the top and across all NHS trusts. The NHS as an employer must act as a responsible and inclusive employer and take the responsibility of making its employment and service to patients one that the entirety of the country, including our Jewish community, can feel and see is one that is for them as well as everybody else.”

The government says it is supporting the recommendations in full, and accepting all recommendations for the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and NHS England, subject to consultation and further engagement with key stakeholders.

Health Secretary James Murray said: “The NHS was built on the principle that everyone should be treated equally and with respect. Racism and discrimination betray everything the NHS stands for and its ability to provide safe, world class care.

“Lord John Mann has made a series of robust and practical recommendations which we are accepting. I know that Jewish people – and everyone experiencing discrimination – need action not words. Together with NHS England, we will waste no time in setting these recommendations in motion to build a health service that lives up to its values.”

Karen Newman, vice president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, said: “We are grateful to Lord Mann for this review and welcome the changes he is calling for, as well as the government’s commitment to implement them.

“The Board of Deputies has long been making the case for many of the measures included in this report, including on training, staff accountability, uniform guidance, recording of Jewish ethnicity, and empowerment of Jewish staff networks.”

She added the Board would “continue to press government, NHS leaders and regulators to implement these changes swiftly” and that the country’s 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.”

The Jewish Medical Association UK said it “welcomes Lord Mann’s report and recommendations, including the thoughtful approach for embedding cultural awareness throughout the NHS and for ensuring accountability for protection from discrimination, which will be of benefit to Jewish patients and staff as well as those of other minority groups.”

Dave Rich, director of policy at CST, said: “This report is deeply concerning and highlights issues that should never arise in a healthcare setting. Hospitals must be safe, inclusive environments where Jewish staff and patients can be open about who they are without fear of hostility, exclusion or discrimination.”

He describes the “evidence that some feel unable to identify themselves, or are reconsidering their place in the NHS”, as “particularly troubling” and stressed the “he priority must be ensuring these recommendations are implemented effectively and consistently across the NHS.”

“Everyone, ” he said, “deserves to feel safe and respected in healthcare settings, and there can be no tolerance for antisemitism in the NHS.”

The Jewish Leadership Council said: “The government’s decision to accept all of Lord Mann’s recommendations is welcome. They must now be implemented without delay and we will be monitoring this closely.

“The recommendations place much of the responsibility on the NHS as an employer with less emphasis on the role of regulators. Yet, 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. 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.

Ultimately, Jewish patients must be able to trust that they will be treated without prejudice. Continued lack of action has severely eroded that trust, and this review must be the first step in changing course.We are grateful to Lord Mann for his review and his ongoing work to fight antisemitism.”

In a separate review published in July 2025, Lord Mann and former Conservative minister Dame Penny Mordaunt warned of rising antisemitism across British society, including a “specific unaddressed issue” within the NHS.

The government will now report back to Parliament on progress against Lord Mann’s recommendations, with an initial update by October 2026 and a full report within 12 months of publication.