Letter: Historic ways of dealing with people coming in and out of the UK have been discarded in favour of a less security-conscious modus operandi
A letter from Louis Shawcross:
It has been reported that as many as two thousand British nationals may have been serving in the Israeli military during the recent conflict in Gaza (Declassified UK) - a conflict that many observers and advocacy groups have described as genocidal.
When confronted with the scale of destruction, and the numbers of people murdered or seriously injured, it is deeply disturbing to consider that individuals who took part in such violence could now be living in the UK - potentially even working in positions of authority or/and within vulnerable communities and with vulnerable individuals.
At the same time, this would not be without precedent. In previous conflicts involving ISIS, some British nationals who travelled abroad to fight were eventually able to return to the UK.
Critics argue that the response of the authorities appeared inconsistent or insufficiently robust, raising ongoing questions about accountability and long-term security considerations.
Adding to the unease are recent comments by Elon Musk at what was described as a “far-right rally,” (a meaningless term, by the way) where he warned that “violence is coming” and said, “you either fight back or you die”.
Statements like these contribute to an atmosphere of heightened tension and polarisation.
There is also frustration among some that public debate becomes narrowly focused on legal definitions - such as whether the term “genocide” technically applies in the case of Gaza - rather than centring on the humanitarian consequences and moral gravity of the events themselves.
For those who hold this view, such arguments risk diverting attention from the suffering that has occurred.
Finally, broader concerns are sometimes raised about social cohesion and security, including questions about vetting, transparency, and how the UK manages both returning fighters and new arrivals - especially when around 75 per cent of those arriving on boats are young, adult males (The Migration Observatory, January 30, 2026), significantly of fighting age which hopefully is a fact which will never become something of relevance.
We cannot be aware of the short and long-term agendas of those in power, but certainly we know that historic ways of dealing with people coming in and out of the country for whatever reason have been discarded in favour of a less security-conscious modus operandi.
Louis Shawcross, Co Down