NHS staff will be banned from displaying Palestinian flags at work if the Conservatives win the General Election, Health Secretary Victoria Atkins has said.
The Cabinet minister told the Jewish Chronicle that the move would help "to ensure that Jewish people feel as safe in our healthcare system as they should in the rest of society”.
She told the newspaper that Trust chief executives shared her concerns over the flag being worn to show solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
In an interview with the newspaper, Ms Atkins said: “I’ve already been in conversations with NHS England about how we can ensure that uniforms are free (of) political (symbols) and flags, and this goes across the board.
“Our hospitals, surgeries and other healthcare settings should not be places where individuals express their political views, but environments that enable people simply to get health care quickly and safely.=
“Working with NHS England, I know they share these concerns, as do NHS trust executives — and indeed, the overwhelming majority of people who work in the NHS.”
Ms Atkins told the newspaper that “antisemitism is a specific problem that needs a specific set of solutions”.
In April, hundreds of NHS workers protested outside Palantir's headquarters in Waterloo over claims that the software company is supplying the Israel Defence Forces with military technology.
Palantir has been awarded a contract by NHS England to create a data management system called the Federated Data Platform, which will give hospital managers real-time data on bed occupancy and waiting lists.
Protesters also blockaded the entrance to NHS England's headquarters in London over the Palantir deal, carrying placards saying that the tech firm was "complicit in Israeli genocide".
The demonstration was organised by a group named Health Workers for a Free Palestine (HW4FP), which describes itself as a "collective of UK healthcare workers organising for Palestinian liberation".
The announcement comes several weeks after Cabinet Minister Esther McVey mooted a ban on rainbow lanyards across Whitehall.
She said in May that civil servants should wear “standard design” lanyards, a statement which could indicate that the colourway used to express support for the LGBT+ community or as a marker of LGBT+ identity should not be used.
In a written statement before the Commons, Ms McVey said: “The guidance makes clear that civil servants must not allow their personal political views to determine their actions or any advice they give related to diversity and inclusion in any part of their employment.”
