The ELSC and PILC have submitted a formal complaint to the SRA against Caroline Turner, Director of UKLFI, alleging breaches of the SRA\u2019s Principles and Code of Conduct, including the use of Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP), which are lawsuits intended to limit freedom of expression on matters of public interest. Additionally, we are calling for an investigation into whether UKLFI is operating as an unregulated law firm, and urging the SRA to bring it under regulatory oversight.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
UKLFI, established in 2011, describes<\/a> its mission as countering the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement and what it calls the \u201cdelegitimisation of Israel\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n The complaint includes eight threatening letters sent by UKLFI to individuals and organisations between January 2022 and May 2025 which demonstrate a seeming pattern of vexatious and legally baseless correspondence aimed at silencing and intimidating Palestine solidarity efforts. These letters were all obtained with the consent of the organisations or individuals receiving them.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n The complaint requests that the SRA suspend Caroline Turner to prevent further breaches of professional standards and to set a precedent against the use of SLAPPs. It also demands that UKLFI be regulated as a law firm, given its use of UK legal professionals\u2019 reputations to lend credibility to its work, despite being unregulated.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n A recent report<\/a> by CAGE International accused UKLFI of contributing to a \u201cwave of repression\u201d by filing complaints against individuals and organisations who stand in solidarity with Palestine. The group\u2019s tactics were further exposed in a film<\/a> released by Led By Donkeys, which highlighted UKLFI\u2019s efforts to silence Palestine advocates. In July 2025, Middle East Eye<\/a> reported that the UK Charity Commission had confirmed that it is investigating UKLFI\u2019s charitable wing, following complaints submitted by both CAGE and Led By Donkeys.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n UKLFI\u2019s letters prominently state that its \u201cpatrons and members include some of the most distinguished members of the UK legal profession\u201d, listing regulated solicitors and barristers. However, we consider that, as an unregulated entity, UKLFI\u2019s reliance on these names creates a false impression of regulatory oversight that is misleading and unethical. Specifically, we believe that the actions of UKLFI violate SRA Principle 2 (upholding public trust) and Code of Conduct 8.8 (accuracy in publicity).\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n The complaint demonstrates a wider concern about how political groups are utilising legal and regulatory systems in the UK to suppress solidarity with Palestine during the ongoing Israeli genocide against Palestinians. It highlights the growing threat of such groups using SLAPPs and lawfare as tools to stifle free expression and advocacy on Palestinian liberation. Without urgent regulatory intervention, we are concerned that these organisations will continue to use these tactics to suppress conversation about the perpetration of war crimes and crimes against humanity and silence those who speak out against Israel.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is our view that UKLFI\u2019s actions constitute material and ideological support for the Israeli genocide against Palestinians. As ELSC\u2019s Monitor Officer in Britain, Tara, warns: \u201cUKLFI is actively suppressing solidarity with Palestine. Our research documents how UKLFI\u2019s threatening letters to organisations have triggered concrete reprisals, including workers disciplined or fired for Palestine solidarity, reputations smeared through coordinated campaigns, and events cancelled under pressure. This is a systematic strategy to criminalise solidarity with Palestine and shield genocide complicity. This complaint is a demand for accountability\u201d<\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Paul Heron, PILC\u2019s Solicitor adds: \u201cUKLFI are acting in a manner that chills public participation and intimidates those who stand in solidarity with Palestine. No solicitor is above the SRA\u2019s regulatory framework. We are calling for a full investigation into their conduct and into UKLFI as an organisation that effectively acts as a law firm.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 The ELSC and PILC have submitted a formal complaint to the SRA against Caroline Turner, Director of UKLFI, alleging breaches of the SRA\u2019s Principles and Code of Conduct, including the use of Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP), which are lawsuits intended to limit freedom of expression on matters of public interest. Additionally, we are calling for an investigation into whether UKLFI is operating as an unregulated law firm, and urging the SRA to bring it under regulatory oversight.\u00a0<\/p>","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":7625,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[55],"tags":[112],"test-2":[],"country":[152],"blog_categories":[],"class_list":["post-7622","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-press-release","tag-anti-palestinian-racism","country-gb"],"acf":[],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":55,"label":"Press Release"}],"post_tag":[{"value":112,"label":"Anti-Palestinian Racism"}],"country":[{"value":152,"label":"Britain"}]},"featured_image_src_large":["https:\/\/elsc.support\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/UKLFI-2-1024x538.png",1024,538,true],"author_info":{"display_name":"Bashar","author_link":"https:\/\/elsc.support\/ar\/author\/bashar\/"},"comment_info":0,"category_info":[{"term_id":55,"name":"Press Release","slug":"press-release","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":55,"taxonomy":"category","description":"Official updates shared with media or public.","parent":0,"count":76,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":55,"category_count":76,"category_description":"Official updates shared with media or public.","cat_name":"Press Release","category_nicename":"press-release","category_parent":0}],"tag_info":[{"term_id":112,"name":"Anti-Palestinian Racism","slug":"anti-palestinian-racism","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":112,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"Discrimination against Palestinians","parent":0,"count":60,"filter":"raw"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/elsc.support\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7622","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/elsc.support\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/elsc.support\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elsc.support\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elsc.support\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7622"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/elsc.support\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7622\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7726,"href":"https:\/\/elsc.support\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7622\/revisions\/7726"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elsc.support\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7625"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/elsc.support\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7622"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elsc.support\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7622"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elsc.support\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7622"},{"taxonomy":"test-2","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elsc.support\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/test-2?post=7622"},{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elsc.support\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=7622"},{"taxonomy":"blog_categories","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elsc.support\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog_categories?post=7622"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\u201cWe will not allow legal threats to shut down the public\u2019s right to speak out on Palestine. The SRA has a duty to step in, to uphold professional standards, and to protect civil society from intimidation dressed up as law\u201d<\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"