Decision on pension fund divestment pushed to September – but councillor acknowledges ‘strong moral imperative’

A Palestine solidarity march in London. Photograph: Wikicommons

Islington Council has said there is “not yet enough information” to make a formal decision on the ethical divestment of its pension fund.

Earlier this month, Cllr Paul Convery, chair of the pensions committee, revealed that the fund has £2.6 million in indirectly-owned shares in companies listed by the UN as “compliant in human rights abuses” in Palestine.

He said this is a “small proportion” of the fund, which totals £1.8 billion in value, but acknowledged that there was a “strong moral imperative” to divest.

“There are 10 companies,” he revealed. “Mainly in banking, IT, travel and tourism.”

Convery initially said that a decision would be made in July, but that has now been pushed to September.

The council said officers would work “on the next steps in the process”.

The pensions committee is looking to exclude “companies on the UN’s list of businesses involved in activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory deemed compliant in human rights abuses”.

Cllr Convery previously said he believes there to be “no major legal block to this council divesting”.

This was confirmed during the recent pensions committee meeting, on the proviso that the council consults pension fund members before divesting.

Council officers have estimated that divestment will cost £27,000 a year, along with a one-off transition cost of approximately £539,000.

Esme Waterfield, from the Islington branch of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, welcomed the “wonderful commitment”, but noted that the UN’s list “isn’t adequate on its own” and is “only a starting point”.