Home Office to investigate birth certificate ‘returned with word Israel scribbled out’

The Home Office said it will launch an investigation into a baby's birth certificate that was reportedly returned to the parents with the word "Israel" scribbled out.

A man had sent off a passport application for his six-month-old baby girl, charity Campaign Against Antisemitism posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, and the attached birth certificate was returned ripped with the word "Israel" crossed out.

The parents are "very concerned" about the incident, the charity added.

Home Secretary James Cleverly replied to the social media post saying that the Home Office would investigate what had happened.

"I have asked my officials to investigate this urgently and will see that appropriate action is taken," he wrote.

The Home Office hasn't yet responded to ITV News' request for comment.

The incident comes at a time when anti-semitic incidents are at an all-time high, according to the Jewish charity Community Security Trust.

The charity recorded more than 4,000 anti-semitic incidents in the UK in 2023, with a huge increase following the Hamas attacks on October 7 and the onset of the ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict.

“Of the 4,103 instances of anti-Jewish hate reported, 2,699 (66%) occurred on or after 7 October," the report, published on February 15, said.

The total is almost double the previous record in 2021 and was described as an "explosion in hatred" against the Jewish community by the charity's Chief Executive Mark Gardner.

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