A new report says a British judge set to decide whether the UK’s proscription of Palestine Action is lawful has been abruptly replaced by a panel that includes a judge with long-standing ties to Israel, leading to accusations of a “stitch-up.”
The Electronic Intifada reported on Thursday that High Court Judge Victoria Sharp, who has well-documented connections to pro-Israel lobbying networks in Britain, will now lead the newly appointed panel overseeing the case.
Before the change, High Court Justice Martin Chamberlain, an expert on free speech law, had been scheduled to rule on whether to overturn the British government’s designation of Palestine Action as a “terrorist” organization. But last Wednesday, he was abruptly replaced by a three-judge panel comprised of Victoria Sharp, Karen Steyn and Jonathan Swift.
Victoria Sharp’s appointment to the panel is drawing particular scrutiny due to her family and professional links to pro-Israel networks.
Her twin brother, Richard Sharp, sits on the board of trustees of the charity One Million Mentors alongside Trevor Chinn, a major British funder of pro-Israel groups.
Richard Sharp is also a former chair of the BBC. When he was appointed in 2021, the broadcaster noted that “Sharp’s heritage is Jewish and he is considered by those who know him broadly pro-Israel. He has a twin sister, Victoria, who is a senior judge.”
He resigned from the BBC in 2023 after breaching public appointments rules by failing to disclose his involvement in facilitating a £1 million loan to then prime minister Boris Johnson.
Victoria Sharp’s own professional background has also come under the spotlight. As a barrister in the 1980s, she was instructed by the law firm Mischon de Reya, which later represented the Israeli regime and a number of pro-Israel groups in legal efforts to challenge boycotts of Israel in the UK.
She has also been reported to have served as one of the “principal advisers” to media tycoon Robert Maxwell, later revealed to have acted as a spy for Israel.
Chinn, a longtime figure in pro-Israel advocacy, has backed groups such as Labour Friends of Israel.
After the Labour Party took office last year, an analysis by Declassified UK found that half of Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s cabinet had received funding from Israel-aligned donors, with Chinn among the most prominent.
“I’ve spent my entire life working for Israel,” Chinn said during a meeting in 2013. In January, he was awarded the Medal of Honor by the Israeli president for his “contribution to Israel and the Jewish people.”
Although the last-minute replacement of Chamberlain was unusual within the British legal system, it was not without precedent.
A similar switch occurred earlier this year in the case brought by the Palestinian human rights organisation al-Haq, which challenged the British government over its role in exporting F-35 bomber components to Israel.
In that case, Karen Steyn was one of two judges who stepped in to replace Chamberlain and she ultimately ruled in Israel’s favor.
Meanwhile, campaigners were once again arrested this week for holding signs expressing support for Palestine Action.
Palestine Action has focused much of its campaign on Elbit Systems UK, Israel’s largest weapons manufacturer, which it accuses of supplying weapons to the Israeli military during the regime’s genocidal war on Gaza.
In July, the UN human rights chief sharply criticized Britain’s ban on the activist group, calling it a “disturbing” misuse of the UK’s counter terrorism laws and urging the government to reverse the decision.
IMAGE CREDIT: Police officers address demonstrators at a protest against the ban on Palestine Action outside the UK Home Office in London, November 24, 2025. (Photo by Shutterstock)
[ SOURCE: PRESS TV ]
