British MPs warn Israel anti-boycott law could also stifle criticism of China

The Economic Activity of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) Bill is particularly aimed at Labour councils that have sought to use their financial power to put pressure on Israel. China hawks in the ruling Conservative party have also raised concerns that the law could stop public bodies from making pr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inFT.com
Main Authors Pickard, Jim, Fisher, Lucy
Format Newspaper Article
LanguageEnglish
Published London The Financial Times Limited 24.06.2023
Subjects
Boycotts
Councils
Foreign policy
Human rights
Legislation
Minority & ethnic groups
Political parties
Slavery
Supply chains
United Kingdom > UK
China
Israel
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Summary:The Economic Activity of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) Bill is particularly aimed at Labour councils that have sought to use their financial power to put pressure on Israel. China hawks in the ruling Conservative party have also raised concerns that the law could stop public bodies from making procurement and investment decisions based on a foreign state or region’s human rights record. Councils, universities and other taxpayer-funded institutions would face “significant fines” if they spent money “pursuing their own foreign policy agenda”, the government said this week.