Irish Lawyers for Palestine, made up of legal practitioners and academics north and south of the border, yesterday appealed to Ms Bacik “as a fellow lawyer and leader of the Labour Party” to intervene on behalf of the four remand prisoners currently on hunger strike.

Heba Muraisi and Kamran Ahmed have been refusing food for 73 and 66 days respectively, according to prisoners’ group Prisoners for Palestine.

Lewie Chiaramello has been refusing to eat every other day for 52 days as part of a “rolling strike”, while Umer Khalid is on day five of a resumed all-out hunger strike.

They are among prisoners held on remand while awaiting trial for offences linked to Palestine Action, alleged to have taken place before the direct action protest group’s controversial proscription under UK terrorism legislation.

The hunger strikers’ five demands are the end of alleged censorship inside prison, immediate release on bail, the release of information relating to their prosecutions, the deproscription of Palestine Action, and the shutting down of Israeli weapons manufacturer Elbit Systems’ UK operations.

In a letter to Ms Bacik which has been shared online, Irish Lawyers for Palestine say the activists would likely have been released on bail had they been charged with these offences in Ireland.

The group said: “These activists acted in solidarity with Palestine. They are being held in conditions that violate international human rights standards.”

The letter continues: “The matter is now critical for Heba and Kamran. Their lives are at a serious junction and urgent intervention is needed by all those who hold sway. Every minute counts.

“In this regard, we are not clear whether you have made contact with your British counterpart, Prime Minister Keir Starmer MP on this matter. As such we now call upon you to do so and to confirm same publicly.

“At your recent party conference, you reaffirmed Labour’s solidarity with the people of Palestine.

“You have consistently called for human rights to be embedded in politics. It would be more than appropriate for you to call on your colleague to act in a human rights compliant manner.”

The Labour Party has been contacted for comment.