Mary Glindon MP: Hunger strikers should end their actions
A few constituents have contacted me about the people who have decided to go on hunger strike for their views on Palestine.
They may die or face life-long health impacts as a result of refusing food for many weeks.
One issue is the long period of remand they face before their cases come to court.
I will make a more general comment on remand prisoners. It is always better that remand is as short as possible but that’s easier said than done given the huge backlog of cases before the courts we inherited from the last Conservative government.
There are other options in some cases. These may include tagging, home curfew, the confiscation of passports, and restrictions on association and the use of computers and phones.
The hunger strikers in this case are also demanding that the Government reverses its proscription of Palestine Action as a terrorist group and shutting down Elbit Systems, the Israel-based defence manufacturer with several UK factories.
Parliament voted for the proscription and it is up to Parliament to keep the law or not in the light of a possible judicial decision. I voted for the ban and stand by that decision.
It is up to the government to decide on arms policy on Israel, an ally with which we have disagreements and on which some arms exports have been restricted according to our own laws.
No government can allow its policies to be dictated by such actions. I am, therefore, appealing to the hunger strikers to end their actions. I don’t want to see them die and want them to have the best treatment for the damage they are doing to themselves.