Muslim Group’s Event Removed by Labour From Its Online Guide After the Group’s Founder Made a Shocking Statement

Labour has removed a pro-Palestine group’s event from its official conference programme after concerns were raised about past comments made by the group’s founder about Hamas.

Friends of Al-Aqsa had been listed to hold a fringe event during Labour’s conference in Liverpool. The group’s founder, Ismail Patel, was expected to chair the event.

However, the event was later removed from Labour’s online conference guide and conference app following criticism and questions about the organisation and Patel’s previous statements.

Friends of Al-Aqsa describes itself as an organisation campaigning for political change for Palestine.

A UK Government-commissioned review published in 2024 described Friends of Al-Aqsa as an “anti-Israel campaign group”. The review also said the organisation was part of Together for Palestine, a coalition that included several British far-left and Islamist groups.

The review highlighted a number of controversial comments and connections involving Patel.

It said Patel had previously visited former Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Gaza.

Patel was also filmed speaking at a demonstration in 2009, where he said: “We salute Hamas for standing up to Israel.”

At the same demonstration, he also said: “Hamas is no terrorist organisation.”

Hamas is officially banned as a terrorist organisation in the UK.

The Government-commissioned review also reported that Patel described the man who killed Israeli tour guide Eli Kay in Jerusalem in 2021 as a “martyr”.

The controversy led Conservative politician Chris Philp to criticise Labour for allowing the event to appear in its conference programme.

Philp told The Telegraph that Patel was not someone Labour should be sharing a platform with. He also questioned why the event had been approved for inclusion in the first place.

Philp accused Labour of giving a platform to someone who had previously made controversial comments about Hamas. He said antisemitism and hatred should have no place in British society.

According to The Telegraph, Labour MPs also raised concerns about the event with the party’s outgoing General Secretary Hollie Ridley.

The event was removed from the conference listing the following day. Senior Labour figures were also reported to be looking at the party’s process for checking and approving fringe events.

Alex Hearn, from Labour Against Antisemitism, welcomed the decision to remove the event but said Labour still needed to explain how it was approved.

He said groups considered extremist should not be promoted by the Labour Party and called for stronger checks before events are included in conference programmes.

Friends of Al-Aqsa has also previously accused Israel of using the October 7 attacks as a reason to launch what the organisation described as a “genocidal war against the Palestinian people”.

In written evidence submitted to Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, Patel also argued that Israel, as what he described as an occupying power, did not have a legal right to claim self-defence against people living under occupation.

Friends of Al-Aqsa previously sponsored a trip to Israel for MPs in 2010. The visit reportedly included meetings with representatives of Hamas and Fatah.

The event at the centre of the latest controversy is titled “Labour’s Position on Gaza Is Betraying Justice & the People” and was due to take place at the Hilton hotel in Liverpool.

Labour said the gathering was outside the conference’s secure area and stressed that it was not an official Labour Party event and had not been endorsed by the party.

A Labour spokesman confirmed that the fringe event had been removed from both the online conference guide and the conference app.

Friends of Al-Aqsa was approached for a response to the controversy.