Newham Palestine Solidarity Campaign made the calls at a council meeting yesterday reports Nick Clark, Local Democracy Reporter

A group of protesters holding flags and banners — Members of Newham Palestine Solidarity Campaign protest outside a council meeting (09/10/25)

Palestine solidarity campaigners called on Newham Council to ensure it is not “complicit in genocide” during a debate yesterday (9th).

Councillors debated calls to ensure that the council’s pension fund does not invest in companies that supply Israel with arms or violate international law.

Miriam Scharf from Newham Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) called on the council “to disclose and make concrete moves to divest from companies complicit in the genocide.”

She said: “The people of Newham are on the side of Palestinian rights – they do not want their pensions to be used for arms to Israel.

“Arms exports and imports to Israel from the UK are at an all time high this year. You, Newham councillors, can decide tonight to play your part in stopping this participation in genocide.”

Labour councillor John Gray – chair of the council’s pensions committee – said the council “does not – repeat does not – invest in companies that supply Israel with arms.”

He said the “respected investment advisers Barnett Waddingham” had assured the council that this was the case.

He challenged PSC members to name the companies arming Israel that they believe the pension fund invests in.

Labour councillor Zulfiqar Ali – responsible for finance – also insisted that “Newham has no direct investment in any arms supplier within Palestinian or Israeli territories.”

However he added that it has a “small amount” of indirect investment “through European companies who may be involved.”

PSC member Jim Trobeck said the campaign could not answer Cllr Gray’s question as the council had refused multiple freedom of information requests asking for data on the pension fund’s investments.

Newham Independents opposition leader, councillor Mehmood Mirza, proposed a motion on “ethical Investment and divestment from human rights violations.”

It included a demand that the council declare its intention to divest from all companies involved in the arms trade and “complicit in human rights abuses, war crimes, or illegal settlements.”

Cllr Mirza said: “Across London more than £7billion of local government pension funds are invested in companies identified by the United Nations and other credible organisations as being linked to violations of human rights.

“These include firms such as Microsoft, Alphabet, Palantir, Caterpillar – all of which are invovled in supplying and supporting military operations causing devastation in Gaza.”

But Labour opposed the motion. Labour councillor Stephen Brayshaw said it posed a “tangible threat” to the fund’s “financial stability.”

He said: “By targeting companies involved in any form of association with defence this group and their junior partners have opened the door to a chilling reality – one where tech giants like Microsoft could be off-limits to our investment.”

Councillors voted down the motion with 38 against and seven in favour.

Instead, they backed an alternative motion from cllr Gray. This said the pension committee should “review all its investments to ensure that it follows the highest standards possible, within the constraints it operates, about human rights.”

However it warned that the council had a “fiduciary duty” to “not put the pension fund at risk.”

Councillor Nate Higgins – leader of the Green group – said the motion was a “softer version” of Cllr Mirza’s proposal, and branded it “cynical politics.”

He said: “Labour asks for another review, more consultants, careful not to commit to divestment and stressing legal caveats at every turn.

“Labour are in government – if it is illegal to divest from government, it is the Labour Party that chooses to keep it so.”

But Cllr Gray said: “We have a duty to make sure we do not put our pension fund at risk.”

Councillors voted in favour of the motion unanimously.

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