Anti-genocide defendants denied decent food during trial

The determination of the Keir Starmer Labour Party government to ‘make the process the punishment’ in the treatment of anti-genocide activists and journalists, in his zeal to protect Israel from the consequences of its genocidal actions, has reached a new low. Once again, it’s the political prisoners on hunger strike in the firing line.

Shocking developments in the hunger strike scandal

In response to the acquittal of activists by juries in several cases, the state has already raided homes, seized electronic devices, imposed unworkable bail conditions, kept arrestees waiting months to find out whether they will be prosecuted – and, most notably, both held the ‘Filton 24’ activists in prison for almost a year and a half before trial (and counting), and announced Starmer’s plan to abolish jury trials for all but a handful of the most serious offences.

And now, as some ‘Filton’ prisoners’ cases have finally come to trial, Starmer’s police state is denying them food all day during their trial, except for a sandwich at lunch – and has even barred a judge from allowing them a banana as extra sustenance.

Writer and former UK ambassador Craig Murray, who has been covering the current trial broke the news earlier today (16 December 2025) in a post on X:

This sounds incredible but I assure you it is true. The Palestine Action defendants in the Filton trial get no breakfast and no dinner.

They are woken at 5.30am. Their only food is a sandwich lunch they may not access until 1pm.

Judge Johnson had ordered they be given bananas in the dock, but he has been told by court authorities he cannot do that again.

“Bananagate”

The Real Media news outlet elaborated on what it has termed ‘Bananagate’:

[Bananagate – Part 2: We mentioned the food issues at the start of our coverage of Day 16 before the weekend. Part of the reason for further delays and the early end of proceedings today was the continuation of those problems.

When the judge requested that a court clerk provide a banana to a defendant in the dock today, the Serco staff refused, telling the court that they had got into trouble for doing so on Friday. Security rules at the court also apparently meant that packed lunches provided by the prison could not be checked and provided before 1pm. Even the intervention of the judge apparently could not overcome these obstacles to common sense.]

The Filton 24 have also reported being denied medical care and essential prescription drugs in prison. Eight of the group are on hunger-strike, most for more than a month now, against Starmer’s decision – exposed as being made in consultation with the Israeli embassy – to deny them bail for what might be as much as 18-24 months more on top of the time already imprisoned.

Featured image via the Canary