Dozens of British MPs and peers back call for UK apology over Balfour Declaration

Dozens of British MPs and peers back call for UK apology over Balfour Declaration Submitted by MEE staff on Mon, 03/09/2026 - 11:27 Arthur Balfour was foreign secretary in 1917 when he pledged British support for Jewish homeland in historic Palestine The Dome of the Rock shrine in the old city of Jerusalem, as seen from the Mount of Olives on 23 January 2026 (AFP/Ahmad Gharabli) Off Dozens of MPs and peers have signed a letter calling for a formal British apology over the Balfour Declaration in 1917, which paved the way for the creation of Israel in 1948 and the ethnic cleansing of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians during the Nakba . Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran, Labour's Nadia Whittome and Green MP Carla Denyer are some of the 45 MPs and peers who have signed a letter so far, which also includes a condemnation of historic British abuses in Mandate-era Palestine between 1917 and 1948. "During its occupation of Palestine, Britain violated a series of international laws that were binding at the time," said Moran, adding: "The consequences of those actions have profoundly shaped the conflict we witness today, yet successive governments have refused to acknowledge this record or offer a formal apology.