The Professional Standards Authority (“the PSA”) has decided to apply to the High Court for judicial review of the latest decision of the General Pharmaceutical Council’s Fitness to Practise Committee in the Nazim Ali case.

The case relates to the remarks made by Mr Ali, a pharmacist, as he led the Al Quds march in London in 2017, and the history is set out in our earlier report. The latest decision upheld the charge of antisemitism in relation to two of the four sample remarks, but rejected the charge in relation to two others.

The Committee again decided to give Mr Ali a warning but not a suspension. UKLFI Charitable Trust (“UKLFI CT”), Jonathan Hoffman (one of the witnesses at the original hearing) and the Board of Deputies of British Jews asked the PSA to consider whether the decision should be judicial reviewed.

The PSA has now concluded that the latest decision was insufficient to protect the public and should be judicially reviewed by the High Court.

Jonathan Turner, UKLFI CT Executive Director, said: “We welcome the PSA’s decision since in our view the Fitness to Practice Committee did not properly inform itself about Judaism, Zionism and antisemitism, and as a result did not understand the meaning of Mr Ali’s remarks to those to whom they were addressed”.