Michael Mansfield criticises ministers’ refusal to meet Palestine Action hunger strikers

Michael Mansfield: ‘The idea that people would be incentivised to kill themselves in order to get bail – put themselves at risk because that’s what they’re doing – is ludicrous.’ Photograph: Sonja Horsman/The Observer

One of the UK’s leading human rights lawyers has criticised the government’s refusal to engage with Palestine Action-affiliated prisoners who are on hunger strike as based on “ludicrous” reasoning.

In its strongest statement yet, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said that meeting with the hunger strikers risked creating “perverse incentives” but this was roundly rejected by Michael Mansfield KC, known for his work on landmark cases such as the Grenfell Tower fire, Stephen Lawrence and the Birmingham Six.