War Crimes Case Re-Opened — John McEvoy Declassified UK

War Crimes Case Re-Opened John McEvoy (consortiumnews.com › john mcevoy) Declassified UK (declassifieduk.org) The Metropolitan Police Service has reversed its decision to close a war crimes probe into U.K. nationals who fought for Israel amid the Gaza genocide, it can be revealed. The 240-page referral was first submitted by the Public Interest Law Centre (PILC (pilc.org.uk)) and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR (pchrgaza.org)) in August 2025. It alleged that ten U.K. nationals —including dual citizens — had committed war crimes and crimes against humanity while fighting for the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) in Gaza. Allegations against those soldiers included international crimes such as “wilful killing, extermination, attacking civilians, and deportation or forcible transfer of population.” The Met initially responded by narrowing its focus to four identifiable British nationals before informing the claimants in April 2026 that it would not pursue any criminal investigation. It said that an effective investigation could not be conducted, nor was there a realistic prospect of convictions. But in correspondence with PILC last week, the Met announced the reversal of its position and said “a fresh scoping exercise” in relation to the four U.K. nationals will now take place. Scoping exercises are undertaken by the Met’s war crimes team — which is housed within Counter Terrorism Command (SO15) — to decide whether to conduct a full investigation. The move comes after British-Palestinian human rights campaigner Lubna Speitan, who is represented by PILC, threatened judicial review proceedings against the Met. In a pre-action letter, PILC said the Met had wrongly applied its own policy and failed to take into account relevant considerations such as the full range of evidential pathways available for an investigation. Human rights lawyer Michael Mansfield KC, who supported the initial referral, said: “Allegations of war crimes must be investigated irrespective of the nationality of those accused or the political sensitivities surrounding the conflict.” “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.” New Scotland Yard, headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service, the territorial police force responsible for policing most of London. (Can Pac Swire / Flickr / CC BY-NC 2.0) Brits in the IDF Earlier this year, Declassified revealed (declassifieduk.org) how over 2,000 Britons have served in Israel’s military during the Gaza genocide. Data obtained via a Freedom of Information (FOI) request showed that 1,686 British-Israelis as well as 383 people with British, Israeli, and another nationality have served in the IDF since October 2023. That FOI request was issued in Israel because the U.K. government does not collect data on the number of Britons who have been fighting for Israel. Over 26,000 people signed (secure.declassifieduk.org) a recent letter calling for the U.K. government to track the movements of Britons who have served in the IDF and conduct independent war crimes investigations. That letter was also signed by over 70 prominent figures including Green party leader Zack Polanski, genocide scholar Martin Shaw, and anti-apartheid politician Andrew Feinstein. Last month, U.N. human rights expert and lawyer Chris Sidoti declared (x.com): “Anyone who has served in the IDF in Gaza since October 2023 must be considered a suspect for the commission of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and the crime of genocide.” ‘Impor