Political Audit: Morrisons

Corporate Communications & Public Stance

No public evidence identified of any dedicated corporate statement, press release, or annual-report passage in which Morrisons directly addresses the Israel-Palestine conflict or the post-October 2023 Gaza war. Morrisons’ only on-record statements on the subject are reactive, sourcing-specific denials issued in response to boycott campaigns and press inquiries, stating that the company does “not source any goods from the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including the West Bank,” and framing this as a commercial/vendor-audit decision rather than a political one ¹. In 2013 Morrisons dismissed a wave of anti-Israel social-media messages directed at it as “a cut-and-paste job,” a characterization implying an organized template campaign rather than a substantive response to the underlying settlement-produce allegation ². By contrast, Morrisons made an identifiable, quantified public commitment to the Ukraine crisis, including a £250,000 donation to the DEC Ukraine Appeal and in-store donation stations and till-point donation matching at branches including Wakefield, Inverness and Dereham ³⁴⁵. No dedicated Morrisons statement, campaign, or company-specific donation announcement tied to the Israel-Gaza conflict - as distinct from its listing as a generic DEC appeal retail partner - has been identified. No public evidence identified of Morrisons annual reports or PR materials describing its Israel-related commercial activity as anything other than standard produce and wine sourcing.

Operations in Occupied or Contested Territories

Morrisons’ own-label Medjoul dates, sold under a “Product of Israel” designation, were traced via supplier Hadiklaim/Hadaklaim cooperative packaging to the Tomer settlement in the Occupied West Bank’s Jordan Valley ⁶⁷⁸⁹. In response, Morrisons acknowledged the dates were “packed in Tomer,” maintained that the fruit itself was grown within Israel proper and only packaged in the settlement, conceded this was “not in the spirit of the country of origin claim,” and pledged that future dates would be “packed, as well as grown and sourced, in the state of Israel” ¹⁰. A 2020 civil-society update additionally listed other Israeli-sourced Morrisons product lines, including avocados and mangoes from the Galilee, pomegranates from Miriam Shoham, fresh produce imported via the Belgian importer Greenyard Fresh, and Barkan-brand Israeli wine ¹⁰. Morrisons continues to stock Barkan-brand Israeli wine as of the current research date, per a live online grocery product listing ¹¹; no evidence identified that any specific Barkan product sold by Morrisons is sourced from occupied Golan Heights or West Bank vineyards rather than the winery’s Kibbutz Hulda base. In October 2024, the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) issued legal notices to eight UK supermarkets, including Morrisons, demanding within 14 days clarification of what settlement-origin products are sold, steps to end such sales, and due-diligence procedures against mislabelling or repackaging to disguise origin, citing potential liability under international humanitarian law, the Rome Statute, the UK ICC Act 2001, and the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 ¹². No public evidence identified of Morrisons’ response to this 2024 legal notice. No public evidence identified naming Morrisons or Wm Morrison Supermarkets in the UN OHCHR database of business enterprises involved in Israeli settlement activity, as most recently updated in September 2025 ¹³¹⁴.

Morrisons has been a named, repeated target of organized boycott and protest campaigns since at least 2013, including Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) letter-writing and protest actions outside Morrisons’ Bradford head office ¹; War on Want’s campaign urging Morrisons’ CEO, alongside four other retailers, to stop selling settlement produce ¹⁵; BDS Movement UK consumer boycott activity targeting Israeli fresh produce and dates at major chains including Morrisons ¹⁶; and localized public stalls organized by GM Friends of Palestine ¹⁷. A coalition letter whose signatories included Jeremy Corbyn MP, Bob Crow of the RMT, Ken Loach and Miriam Margolyes was sent to then-CEO Dalton Philips regarding the Tomer-labelled dates, and PSC reported that Morrisons’ replies “lacked detail” and did not confirm that an independent investigation had taken place ⁹⁸. A counter-campaign of pro-Israel “Buycott” activity was reported, encouraging shoppers to buy Israeli goods at Morrisons and Waitrose in response to the boycott calls ¹⁸.

Internal Governance, Content & Retail Policies

No public evidence identified of HR/disciplinary action, dismissal, or legal dispute at Morrisons specifically concerning employee speech, political symbols, or union activity related to the Israel-Palestine conflict. A separate, unrelated 2013 case involved a Morrisons worker suspended and later reinstated over wearing a “Help for Heroes” wristband, which was not connected to the Israel-Palestine conflict ¹⁹²⁰. No public evidence identified of platform, algorithmic content-moderation, or editorial policy at Morrisons, since it operates as a physical and online grocery retailer with no comparable content-hosting function. Regulatory and civil-society scrutiny of Morrisons’ retail and supply-chain practices is documented in the Tomer-dates mislabelling controversy ⁶⁷¹⁰ and the 2024 ICJP legal notice concerning settlement-product labelling and due diligence ¹². The Palestine Solidarity Campaign separately ran a “Complain to Trading Standards” campaign encouraging consumers to report supermarkets, including Morrisons, over settlement-produce labelling ⁸⁹. No public evidence identified of a resulting Trading Standards enforcement action against Morrisons specifically.

Brand Heritage & State Partnerships

No public evidence identified of Morrisons using military heritage, defense-sector ties, or state-security origins in its brand or marketing; the company’s founding narrative centers on a Bradford market-stall retail heritage. No public evidence identified of Morrisons hosting Israeli government officials, accepting state honors from Israel, entering formal partnerships with Israeli state or academic institutions, or sponsoring “Brand Israel”-style state public-relations campaigns.

Lobbying, Advocacy, Financing & Logistics

No public evidence identified of Morrisons corporate lobbying, PAC-style donations, or leadership roles in pro-Israel or anti-BDS advocacy organizations such as CFI, AIPAC, ADL, or USISTF, whether through the UK lobbying register or elsewhere. No public evidence identified of donations by Morrisons or The Morrisons Foundation to JNF/KKL, FIDF, Lev Echad, Israeli reservist funds, settlement organizations, Regavim, or Im Tirtzu; The Morrisons Foundation’s registered charitable purpose is UK community-grant giving matched to colleague fundraising, with no Israel/Palestine-related grants identified ²¹. Morrisons is listed as a retail partner supporting the Disasters Emergency Committee’s Middle East Humanitarian Appeal, launched in October 2024, both in-branch and online, alongside other UK household retail brands ²²²³; per the DEC, 72% of funds raised through the appeal in its first six months were spent on Gaza programmes ²². No public evidence identified of any Morrisons-specific quantified donation amount to this Middle East appeal, in contrast to the specifically quantified £250,000 Ukraine DEC donation ³.

Corporate Structure & Primary Mission

Morrisons was taken private in a roughly £7bn leveraged buyout by US private-equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R), which completed on 20 August 2021 and ended the company’s 54-year run as a public company ²⁴²⁵²⁶. Sir Terry Leahy, former Tesco CEO, acted as a senior adviser to CD&R during the bid and subsequently became Morrisons Chairman following the acquisition ²⁷. No state-held golden share or state-linked ownership structure has been identified in Morrisons’ corporate structure. No public evidence identified that Morrisons’ corporate charter or founding mandate is tied to any state geopolitical goal; it operates as a standard UK grocery retailer.

Executive & Leadership Footprint

No public evidence identified of CEO Rami Baitiéh, a former Carrefour executive, making personal statements, donations, board-membership commitments, or social-media activity regarding Israel-Palestine ²⁸. No public evidence identified of Chairman Sir Terry Leahy making personal statements or holding affiliations regarding Israel-Palestine. No public evidence identified of any Morrisons founder, C-suite executive, or CD&R-affiliated controlling principal holding board or advisory roles in CFI, AIPAC, or comparable pro-Israel/anti-BDS advocacy bodies, or making personal donations to FIDF, JNF, or settlement organizations.

End Notes