A British surgeon is taking the National Health Service (NHS) and the UK government to court, arguing that the adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism has been used to restrict political speech and silence pro-Palestine expression.
Ranjeet Brar was suspended from his role at King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust following a speech he gave on 6 April 2026 outside the US embassy in London commemorating the victims of a reported US-Israeli attack on a school in the Iranian city of Minab.
In his speech, Brar said that Israel, which he described as a “genocidal settler colonial entity”, “has no right to existence” and “needs to be wiped off the map and replaced with the word ‘Palestine’”.
Footage of the speech was later circulated online by right-wing and pro-Israel social media accounts, including GB News and Julie Hartley-Brewer.
Brar said the Trust sent him a letter on 8 April informing him of his immediate suspension pending investigation, citing complainants’ concerns that his speech could be interpreted as antisemitic.
