Met Police Decline War-Crimes Probe Into Ten British Nationals Who Served With IDF

Overview

• London’s Metropolitan Police said its war crimes team reviewed a 240-page referral and will not open an investigation, telling the referrer it assessed the material under joint police and prosecutor guidelines.
• The dossier, filed in April 2025 by the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights and the Public Interest Law Centre, alleges that ten British nationals took part in targeted killings, strikes on civilian sites, forced displacement, and attacks on protected places in Gaza.
• The referral was backed by a letter from more than 70 legal and human rights experts urging the Met to investigate allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity linked to the Gaza conflict.
• Police cited no realistic prospect of conviction and said an effective investigation could not be conducted, while the submitting lawyers argue the Met applied the wrong test at a pre-investigation stage and say they are likely to bring legal action.
• The decision comes as a Foreign Office unit that tracked possible international-law breaches was recently closed, and Freedom of Information data shows over 2,000 British citizens served in the Israeli military, raising concerns about the UK’s capacity to pursue such cases.