Share this post:

The scenes from Gaza are unbearable: emaciated children dying in their parents’ arms, civilians gunned down for trying to reach aid, hospitals reduced to piles of rubble.

It is the stuff of nightmares — and the horror is accelerating.

And yet, Keir Starmer and David Lammy still refuse to act, to speak plainly, or to do what is morally, diplomatically, and legally right: recognise the state of Palestine, hold Israel accountable, and stop arming a government accused of genocide.

At this point, This Writer is forced to ask a terrifying question: Have they already decided not to say anything until every last Gazan is dead?

If not now, after more than 1,000 civilians have been shot dead for seeking food, after starvation has been turned into a weapon, after Britain’s own churches, diplomats, and ministers have broken ranks — then when?

A Prime Minister in hiding, a Foreign Secretary in denial

More than 50 former UK ambassadors and top diplomats — the architects of UK foreign policy — have signed an open letter demanding recognition of Palestine.

Their words were unequivocal: inaction now risks “profound, historic and catastrophic implications.”

They were joined by the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, who branded Israel’s assault “depraved”, “barbaric”, and “a grave sin”.

He did not flinch from telling his truth: this is a war of aggression. This is dehumanisation on a mass scale. And it is “a stain on the conscience of the international community.”

Starmer’s response so far has been silence.

Lammy’s response was evasion.

Even when former Tory cabinet minister Kit Malthouse warned Lammy in Parliament that his inaction could lead to prosecution under international law, he refused to engage with the substance. Instead, he dismissed it as a personal insult.

But it was not a personal attack — it was a reminder of international law – that complicity in genocide is punishable under the Genocide Convention, which the UK ratified more than half a century ago.

The law is clear — and so is the evidence

Here is what international law says:

• “Starvation of civilians as a method of warfare is prohibited.” — Geneva Conventions

• Arms transfers must be blocked if there is knowledge they could be used in war crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocide — Arms Trade Treaty (2014)

• Signatories to the Genocide Convention have a duty not just to avoid complicity, but to actively prevent genocide.

And yet:

• More than 1,000 Gazans have been shot dead by Israeli forces while seeking food.

• British-supplied components are used in F-35 jets that bomb Gaza’s civilian infrastructure.

• Doctors Without Borders, Save the Children, Oxfam, and more than 100 aid groups say “mass starvation” is now widespread.

Alex de Waal, a global authority on war-related hunger, put it bluntly:

“There is no case since World War II of starvation that has been so minutely designed and controlled.”

Starmer’s Cabinet is revolting — quietly

Behind the scenes, Labour ministers are seething.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting has publicly called for recognition “while there’s still a state of Palestine left to recognise.”

Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood and Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn have raised concerns.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has added his voice. This is especially significant — not just as Mayor of London, but as a potential rival in a post-Starmer Labour future. He’s outflanking Starmer from the moral high ground, and he knows it.

But Starmer insists that Britain must wait for the “right moment.”

What moment would that be, Prime Minister? When the last Gazan child is buried? When the camps are full, and there’s no state left to recognise? When Britain’s moral credibility is reduced to ash?

Public opinion is far ahead of this government

The public is not fooled. Polling by YouGov (July 2025) shows:

• 68 per cent of Britons support an immediate ceasefire in Gaza

• 54 per cent support recognition of Palestine as a state

• 71 per cent oppose the use of starvation or blockade as a military tactic

• Only 18 per cent believe the UK should continue arms sales to Israel

Among Labour voters, the message is even louder:

• 76 per cent of Labour supporters back recognition of Palestine; and

• More than 60 per cent say Starmer is not doing enough to respond to the crisis in Gaza

This is no longer fringe opinion — it is the mainstream will of the British people.

The time to speak is now — and the public must demand it

The diplomatic class has spoken.

Faith leaders have spoken.

Humanitarian organisations have spoken.

Now the public must speak — loudly, clearly, urgently.

We must demand:

1. Immediate recognition of the state of Palestine

2. Full suspension of arms exports to Israel

3. Public condemnation of starvation and civilian targeting as war crimes

4. Commitment to rebuilding UN-led humanitarian access in Gaza

5. Legal accountability for any UK role in facilitating war crimes

📣 Contact your MP – use They Work For You if you don’t know how.
📣 Join a protest.
📣 Write to Labour HQ – Southworks building, 20 Rushworth Street, London SE1  0SS.
📣 Demand answers from your councillors, your party reps, your local and national press.
📣 Make it politically impossible for Starmer and Lammy to stay silent.

History will judge this government — and so will the law

The UK cannot claim ignorance.

There is too much footage.

There are too many statements.

There are too many bodies.

Every day of delay now deepens complicity.

Every word unspoken is a wound left to fester.

Every minister who knows better but stays quiet becomes part of the crime.

There is still time — barely — for Starmer’s government to change course.

But if he and his ministers will not act to save Gaza’s future, let it be remembered that we did everything we could to make them.

Share this post: