UK anti-boycott bill is attack on freedom of expression, say civil society groups

BDS (boycotts, divestment and sanctions) protesters outside the Puma store in Carnaby Street, London, in 2021. Photograph: Zuma Press, Inc./Alamy

Plans to stop UK public bodies boycotting foreign countries and British companies that trade with them represent a further attack on the right to freedom of expression, civil society groups have said.

Officials from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) have said the boycotts, divestment and sanctions bill, announced in last year’s Queen’s speech and designed to stop actions against Israel, will be tabled soon.