Green Party confirms investigation into Lubna Speitan

Lubna Speitan, the Green Party member who proposed a motion declaring Zionism to be racism, told The Telegraph that she remains friends with Minh Quang Pham, who is serving a 44-year US prison sentence for terrorism offences. The motion became party policy on Sunday. [4] [6]

A US court order from 2015 named Speitan as a proposed defence witness and described her as a close friend of Pham. The judge refused the defence’s request to take her testimony by deposition, finding that it had not sufficiently explained why she could not travel or shown that her proposed evidence was material. The judge also rejected a request for live testimony by video link. The order does not establish that she gave evidence. [1]

The Jewish Chronicle reports that Speitan wrote a letter praising Pham’s character in February 2016; the BBC also says it saw the letter. That date places the reported letter after Pham’s first guilty plea in January 2016 and before his initial sentence in May. Asked by The Telegraph this week whether they were still friends, Speitan said they were. She said she believed he had been targeted by the system and called questions about their relationship a character assassination. [3] [4] [5] [6]

Pham was sentenced to 40 years in 2016. Those guilty pleas were vacated in 2020 after a legal ruling affecting a firearm charge; that did not end the prosecution. US prosecutors say he pleaded guilty to terrorism-related offences in 2023 and was sentenced to 44 years in February 2025. They describe the case as including an attempted suicide bombing at Heathrow Airport. [2] [3]

The Green Party says Speitan holds no party position beyond membership, that any member may submit a policy motion, and that the court document does not suggest illegality. The Telegraph also reports that the party said it needed time to investigate the matter; no formal disciplinary outcome has been specified. [5] [6]

Speitan’s continuing friendship and reported character letter document personal support for Pham. They do not, on their own, establish that she knew of or endorsed his offences, or that she acted on behalf of the Green Party in supporting him.

Update

The Green Party has confirmed that an investigation into member Lubna Speitan is under way. On Tuesday, it referred to internal procedures for investigating members’ views; on Wednesday, it explicitly confirmed an active inquiry, according to the BBC. A party spokesperson told Sky News that Speitan holds no party position beyond her membership. [8] [9]

The party’s statement does not identify the particular expression being examined, give a timetable or announce a disciplinary finding. The Telegraph reported that Speitan had not been suspended by Wednesday afternoon. Earlier, the party told The Jewish Chronicle that a court document cited in its reporting did not suggest or evidence illegality. That assessment concerned the document; the newly confirmed inquiry concerns an internal party process. [9] [10] [5]