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Dalloul Neder: Labour accused of ‘disgusting’ treatment of Palestinian man [1]
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Date: 2025-05
Labour has been accused of “disgusting” behaviour towards a Palestinian man who lost his family in Gaza, after refusing to reveal what information the party has gathered on him.
Police dragged Dalloul Neder out of a Labour fundraising event attended by the party’s deputy leader, Angela Rayner, in January, after he held up a picture of his late mother and told the audience: “I lost my family in Gaza… I want to show you my mum.”
Neder, who campaigned for Labour in 2019, later submitted a Subject Access Request (SAR) to the party, asking it to disclose any personal information they had collected about him – a legal right for any individual under the UK’s data protection laws.
But Labour has now rejected his request with a letter that appears to suggest he is not acting in good faith.
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An email from the party seen by openDemocracy says Neder’s SAR is “manifestly unfounded”. Official legal guidance explains this term may refer to people who are not serious about exercising their legal rights.
Such requests may be “malicious”, sent by people who are trying to “harass an organisation with no real purpose other than to cause disruption”, the guidance says.
The news comes as an openDemocracy investigation reveals how the party has continually flouted data protection laws, sparking an active inquiry by the official watchdog. A legal expert today said there was “no justification” for Labour’s persistent failures, adding it is “even more concerning given that we are in an election year”.
Neder has filed a complaint about his case, but says the “unfair” way he has been treated means he will stop campaigning for the party. “Labour are playing the role of the victim, but this is not right,” he said. “I’m frustrated with it. Even when I just want to ask about my rights, I’m being dismissed.”
Mish Rahman, a member of Labour's ruling National Executive Committee, told openDemocracy that it was “beyond disgusting that Labour’s leadership has treated a Palestinian man with such contempt”.
“His family have perished in Gaza during Israel’s genocide and he deserves some respect. This is part of a consistent pattern of behaviour by Starmer-led Labour of treating Palestinians, Muslims and people of colour with hostility.
“Labour are burning bridges with ethnic minority communities across the country and until Starmer acknowledges his faction on the Labour Right has a problem with racism, the situation will get worse.”
‘I’ve lost hope’
Neder told openDemocracy that five members of his immediate family, including his mother, have been killed since Israel launched its catastrophic attack on Gaza after Hamas killed more than 1,100 Israelis on 7 October.
At least 34,000 Palestinians have been killed in the past seven months. “I’ve also lost more than 100 other relatives, like aunties, uncles and cousins,” Neder said. “I have no more friends in Gaza – all of the ones who are my age have been killed or injured.”
Until recently, Neder’s ten-month-old daughter was trapped in Gaza, where she had been “rescued from under the rubble three times”. The British government failed to help rescue the baby despite her having the right to live in the UK, Neder said – with Egyptian authorities eventually stepping in to evacuate her.
Desperate for help from British politicians, Neder said he hoped to appeal to Angela Rayner, whom he has met previously, to take action on Gaza – but was instead dismissed and dragged away.
“I know Angela personally and when she voted against the ceasefire, I couldn’t believe it,” he said. “I wanted to go there with my family’s photo to try and touch their hearts and change their position to make the ceasefire happen.
“I thought she’d say, ‘I’m really sorry for your loss, we promise we’ll do our best’. But instead they responded like I was threatening them with a weapon. I couldn’t believe it.
“For about two weeks afterwards, I couldn’t leave the house – I was just crying. I’ve been receiving lots of messages of solidarity from the community and members of the public. But at the same time, I’ve lost hope in our leaders.”
“I want to show them: I’m one of you. I belong to you. I’m a part of you. I’m a human being. I’m sensitive about my family. I would like to ask what would your reaction be if you were losing your family like me?”
Neder says that, if he’d not been dragged off the stage by police, he would have told Rayner that he’d been “deeply grieving for weeks”, adding: “I can’t eat; I can’t sleep. I’m frustrated, I’m dying since I lost my family. Why are you not voting for a ceasefire? And are you ready to vote for a ceasefire next time?’”
Neder said: “The UK is my second home and I love the UK. I love the people in the UK; they are my own people. But the government is complicit in a genocide.”
The SNP’s Philippa Whitford, who has previously served as a doctor in Gaza, said that Labour was treating Neder “without respect”, by ejecting him from the event in January and then withholding his SAR.
“Dalloul has been seen as a troublemaker, rather than a human being who has lost his family in horrendous circumstances,” she said.
“Underlying all of this is that Labour has a major issue with what’s happening in Gaza. They are utterly on the wrong side of history – and they’re not where their supporters are expecting them to be. They have literally been defending the indefensible.”
Transparency failures
Labour’s rejection of Neder’s SAR comes as the party is under close scrutiny after repeatedly falling foul of data protection legislation.
openDemocracy can reveal that the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has an open investigation into the party's handling of personal data requests.
The watchdog dealt with nearly 400 complaints against Labour in the two years to November 2023 that relate to data protection legislation, including SARs. This compares to 22 complaints made about the Conservative Party over the same time period, and just five against the Green Party.
Correspondence seen by openDemocracy from that time period shows that the ICO said: “We will be monitoring their progress and ensure that [the Labour Party] improves its data protection practices.”
The letter confirms that Labour has “not complied with its obligations under the data protection legislation”.
Several individuals who have submitted SARs to the Labour Party told openDemocracy that their requests had been ignored for weeks and then rejected for spurious reasons, or provided with key documents missing.
Out of 397 data protection complaints, the ICO recorded legal infringements in 70% of cases. A further 12% had “potential infringements”.
Records suggest that Labour’s data failures are longstanding. An ICO letter to a complainant as far back as August 2018 said: “The ICO currently has concerns about Labour’s handling of SARs generally,” adding “we are in communication with Labour in this regard and we are considering what further action may be necessary in order to improve Labour’s practices.”
A spokesperson for the watchdog confirmed there was an open investigation into the party's overall handling of information requests, saying: “The ICO is continuing to engage with the Labour Party on its handling of SARs.”
Ravi Naik, legal director of AWO, said: "There is a lot of talk from the Labour Party about their commitment to integrity and the rule of law. But these stats suggest the party is not adhering to basic data protection laws. This lack of openness with how they use data is even more concerning given that we are in an election year.
"People need to understand how their data is being used because it has a real impact on their lives. The use of data also increasingly impacts the way democracy is run. These are fundamental rights, which should in practice be easy for the Labour Party to respect. There seems to be no justification for failing to act on access requests."
Earlier this month, an openDemocracy report revealed widespread abuse of data protection laws by public authorities and other organisations in the UK. People requesting copies of their private information, such as police or immigration records, have faced long delays or had their requests ignored entirely. Others have been given folders with key documents missing.
This is having a knock-on effect in the justice system, with lawyers telling openDemocracy that asylum applications and claims for false imprisonment have been put on hold due to the delays. Victims of the Windrush Scandal have also struggled to obtain copies of their immigration papers in order to claim compensation.
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