Westminster City Council has said that it will consider the conduct of one of its Children’s Services employees under its employment policies following a complaint from UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) about workshops concerning the Israel-Gaza war.

UKLFI complained to the Council about a therapist, who is described in a recently published Journal of Family Therapy article as a “Systemic Psychotherapist and Clinical Psychologist Children’s Services, Westminster City Council”.

The article, entitled Genocide in Gaza: An Ethical Challenge for Systemic Therapists, repeatedly characterises Israel’s conduct in Gaza as “genocide” and presents the conflict through a strongly anti-Israel and anti-Zionist perspective.

Of particular concern to UKLFI were passages in which the authors described workshops run by one of the therapists within a children’s services setting.

The article states that the workshops were intended to support staff in talking with families about what the authors termed “the genocide in Gaza”. It says that the workshops involved examining what the authors called “unchallenged Zionist discourses within UK media and institutions” and that staff were thereby encouraged to open discussions with clients, including “parents, children or adolescents”, about the subject.

UKLFI told Westminster City Council that the article appeared to indicate that a highly contested political and ideological position was being introduced into professional practice within Children’s Services.

UKLFI raised concerns under the Public Sector Equality Duty, Westminster’s Employees’ Code of Conduct and the Council’s safeguarding obligations under section 11 of the Children Act 2004.

UKLFI asked the Council, among other things, to investigate how the workshops had been authorised, disclose the materials used, consider whether the therapist’s conduct warranted disciplinary review and give staff clearer guidance on the boundary between political opinions and professional duties. It also asked the Council to consider whether the matter should be referred to Prevent.

Council confirms four workshops were held

In its response, Westminster City Council confirmed that Children’s Services had arranged workshops called “Time to Talk”, intended to help social-work staff manage difficult conversations arising from major events.

The Council said these had covered subjects including racism, the Southport tragedy, attacks on synagogues and the Israel-Palestinian conflict. It maintained that the sessions were not intended to debate political positions or persuade participants to adopt a particular view, but instead to provide a professionally facilitated space for reflection.

However, the Council also confirmed that no formal Equality Impact Assessment had been prepared before the workshops. It said that the director who authorised them would have had due regard to the Council’s equality obligations.

The workshops concerning the conflict were delivered on four occasions, with the last taking place on 15 October 2025. There was no written script or attendance sheet, although the Council said this would need to be addressed if further workshops were held. It also said that there are currently no plans to repeat the sessions.

The Council said the sessions had been quality-assured by the Director of Family Services and that advice had been given that they should accommodate multiple perspectives.

Significantly, in response to UKLFI’s request that the therapist’s conduct be considered under the Employees’ Code of Conduct, the Council said:

“The Council will consider this matter in accordance with its employment policies and procedures.”

The Council said that its Local Authority Designated Officer had considered the issue urgently but had concluded that a Prevent referral was not required.

The Council also accepted UKLFI’s suggestion that staff should be reminded about political neutrality. Although employees are already subject to the Council’s Code of Conduct and the Public Sector Equality Duty, the Council said that “a reminder to staff conducting Council business would be good practice” and that it was considering how this should be done.

UKLFI has separately raised a fitness-to-practise concern with the Health and Care Professions Council regarding the therapist’s professional conduct.

A UKLFI spokesperson said:

“It is deeply concerning that workshops within a local authority Children’s Services department appear to have been described by one of their facilitators as a vehicle for challenging ‘Zionist discourses’ and encouraging conversations with children and adolescents on the premise that Israel is committing genocide.

“Whatever the Council’s intended purpose for these sessions, staff working with vulnerable children and families must not use their professional positions to promote one side of a highly contested political conflict.

“We welcome Westminster City Council’s confirmation that it will consider the therapist’s conduct under its employment procedures, that these workshops are no longer being run, and that it is considering reminding staff of their obligation to maintain political neutrality. We hope the Council will now examine carefully whether what actually occurred in these workshops was consistent with its equality, safeguarding and professional obligations.”