The government is ‘not trying to break the bodies’ of Palestine Action protesters on hunger strike, a minister has said, after a doctor warned that eight of the activists were dying. Sir Alan Campbell, the Commons leader, was responding to allegations raised during Thursday’s Christmas adjournment debate.
Adnan Hussain, the independent MP for Blackburn, told the Commons that remand was not meant to ‘break bodies or silence dissent’, adding that conditions were so severe that the prisoners felt driven to risk death. Dr James Smith, an emergency physician from University College London, had earlier told a press conference that some of the hunger strikers were dying.
The eight prisoners are facing charges related to alleged break-ins or criminal damage on behalf of Palestine Action, before the group was banned under terrorism legislation in July. They deny the charges and have called for them to be dropped. Two of the group have reached day 47 of their protest, and a third is on day 46.
Jeremy Corbyn, the independent MP and former Labour leader, urged the Ministry of Justice to respond substantively, stating that ministers had a responsibility for prisoners’ welfare. In response, Campbell emphasised that the welfare of all prisoners, including those on hunger strike, was central to the prison service, and dismissed any suggestion that the government was trying to ‘break bodies’.
The prisons minister, Lord Timpson, noted that prisons were experienced in handling hunger strikes, averaging over 200 incidents per year over the past five years. He said that established processes working with NHS partners were robust and effective.
