Revealed: Muslim civil service group cleared after Gaza-Israel lobbying probe
Call for apology as MP and trade union allege Tory government suspended Civil Service Muslim Network ‘based on political pressure rather than facts’
–
A government probe into a Muslim civil servants’ group that was suspended and publicly criticised by a minister over allegations of pro-Palestine lobbying concluded that it had “no case to answer”, Hyphen can reveal after a transparency battle with the Cabinet Office.
An MP in the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) on British Muslims said our findings showed the Civil Service Muslim Network’s (CSMN) suspension in March 2024 was “based on political pressure rather than facts”. He accused ministers of trying to “silence Muslim voices within the civil service”.
The ordeal has left Muslim government workers feeling “vulnerable and scared”, one told us on condition of anonymity.
In March 2024, the Times reported claims that hundreds of civil servants had attended CSMN webinars following the commencement of Israel’s destruction of Gaza to discuss pressuring the government to change its policy on the war.
The report, based on a document purporting to be a leaked transcript of several meetings, alleged that they involved “numerous antisemitic tropes”, prompting then deputy prime minister Oliver Dowden to say he was “disgusted” and had “ordered an immediate suspension” of the network, pending an investigation.
Hyphen can now reveal the subsequent government probe, which was focused on one single CSMN member, cleared them of wrongdoing. An email sent from the government’s HR “people group” in December to three top civil servants, Fiona Ryland, Zoe Kinch and Cat Little, said no further action was needed.
Investigators had also been unable to “identify any areas and/or individuals where further investigations may be required” or “any specific wider general learning”.
Mohammed Shafiq, chair of the PCS union’s national Black members’ committee, supported the now exonerated civil servant during the internal investigation. He claimed that the Times had been “fed a misrepresentation” of the webinars.
“The reason we won the case was because the Times had a transcript that was handed to them but no recording. And people at that meeting disputed the transcript,” he said
The Cabinet Office initially sought to conceal the investigation outcome when responding to a Freedom of Information Act request by Hyphen — but its findings can now be revealed following a successful appeal by this website.
In September, following Labour’s general election victory, the government quietly revealed that the network had resumed activity.
Mohammed Amin, who previously chaired the Muslim Conservative Forum but has been a Liberal Democrat since 2019, said the 2023 attacks by Hamas and Israel’s response “understandably give rise to very strong emotions” on all sides.
He said he had no direct knowledge of what took place at the meetings, but added: “In my view, the previous Conservative government, particularly with some of the statements by people like then home secretary Suella Braverman, demonstrated an excessive concern to pounce upon any expressions of sympathy and support for Palestinians, and I can understand that they may well have overreacted to the reports that they received regarding what happened at the Civil Service Muslim Network.”
Independent MP Ayoub Khan, a member of the APPG on British Muslims, added that suspending the network “based on unverified claims and politically motivated outrage demonstrated a clear willingness to scapegoat Muslim civil servants rather than uphold principles of fairness and due process”.
The civil service code stresses the need for objectivity and impartiality. According to the Times, the CSMN organised webinars to discuss the government’s stance on the war and civil servants were allegedly coached on how to “lobby” senior officials to take a harder line against Israel, while avoiding disciplinary action.
A member of the CSMN, speaking on condition of anonymity, refuted this. Civil servants were “upset” about the war in Gaza and the meetings were “opportunities for people to come together” in a “safe space” to discuss their feelings, they added.
“It’s made people feel very vulnerable and scared,” they said of the ordeal. “Anybody who’s seen what’s happening in Gaza now comes into work and suffers mental health issues, trauma, and they’ve been told: ‘This is politics, and don’t bring it into the workplace.’”
They called on the government to apologise publicly to the network.
A government spokesperson claimed at the time that the views reportedly expressed in the CSMN meetings did not “represent the views of Muslims across the civil service”.
But a Muslim civil servant said no figures in the last government had canvassed British Muslims or Muslim civil servants for their opinions on the conflict, so “had no authority to say what they think the sentiment of Muslims is, or Muslim civil servants, about what Israel is doing”.
A Cabinet Office spokesperson said the CSMN had voluntarily suspended its activity last year — contradicting Dowden’s claim to have suspended the CSMN himself — but had now resumed with “oversight from civil service leaders to ensure all network activity is in line with the code and relevant guidance”.
Dowden’s office has been approached for comment.
Topics
Get the Hyphen Weekly
Hyphen is the leading media platform on Muslim life in the UK and Europe. Sign up to our newsletter to receive our top stories straight to your inbox every week.
This form may not be visible due to adblockers, or JavaScript not being enabled.