Saturday, April 06, 2024

 UK

Over 50 Labour MPs call for Israel arms sales suspension as pressure grows on Sunak and Starmer


APRIL 5, 2024

Over 50 Labour MPs –  more than a quarter of the parliamentary Labour Party and over half of the Party’s backbenchers – are now calling for an immediate suspension of arms sales to Israel.

The news comes as London Mayor Sadiq Khan also backed an immediate suspension of arms sales. The Lib Dems and SNP have also issued the same demand.

Today, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar also called for an end to UK arms sales to Israel. But so far, the UK leadership refuses to budge.

In a separate development, civil servants are threatening to stop work over arms sales to Israel. Officials in the Department for Business and Trade have requested to “cease work immediately” over fears they could be complicit in war crimes in Gaza.

Former Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell MP tweeted:  “Full support for these courageous civil servants. The Rome Statute covering war crimes is clear that following a superior’s instructions is not a defence when it comes to charges of war crimes. The government must come clean on the legal advice it has.”

Former Shadow Justice Secretary Richard Burgon MP also backed the civil servants, tweeting: “I fully support these workers.” Former Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government Grahame Morris MP also expressed “full support and solidarity with these PCS union members’ courageous actions.” Former leader Jeremy Corbyn MP also expressed his solidarity.

At the same time, the University and College Union announced: “We have today written to the university employer body UUK calling on them to review their UK-Israel research partnership scheme – in line with legal and ethical obligations to avoid any complicity in the ongoing genocide in Gaza.”

Momentum has launched a petition calling on Labour to back a suspension of arms sales to Israel. Currently, the Labour leadership is asking only that the government reveal what legal advice it has received on the issue – although Rishi Sunak clearly has no intention of doing so.

Meanwhile, 600 leading lawyers including three former Supreme Court justices are also demanding a suspension of arms sales to Israel, accusing  the government of breaching international law by continuing to issue licenses.

Opinion polls, even before this week’s bombing of an aid convoy by Israel, showed public support for a suspension of arms sales.  71% of Labour voters back the demand, with just 9% opposed. 59% of voters say Israel is breaching people’s human rights in Gaza.

Kate Dove, Momentum Co-Chair said: “Israel’s murder of aid workers in Gaza represents one more war crime in a long list of atrocities. It is no wonder, then, that a majority of voters find it unconscionable that the UK continues to send weapons to Israel, a state on trial for genocide, or that  600 leading lawyers find it illegal. Yet while the SNP and Lib Dems have called for a suspension of arms sales, the Labour leadership has not. We must exert maximum pressure on Sunak and Cameron to finally do the right thing – that means Keir Starmer and David Lammy speaking up for an immediate suspension of arms sales to Israel.”

Tell Labour: Stand Against Arms Sales to Israel! Sign the petition and spread the word.

Labour MPs Calling to Suspend Arms Exports
Alex Sobel: https://twitter.com/alexsobel/status/1775558113753542898
John McDonnell: https://x.com/johnmcdonnellMP/status/1775781182820515916?s=20
Zarah Sultana: https://x.com/zarahsultana/status/1775537219320594701?s=20
Bell Ribeiro-Addy: https://twitter.com/BellRibeiroAddy/status/1775129888564850809
Richard Burgon: https://x.com/RichardBurgon/status/1775852877757501753?s=20
Apsana Begum: https://twitter.com/ApsanaBegumMP/status/1772944869364752727
Beth Winter: https://x.com/BethWinterMP/status/1775825767026344221?s=20
Imran Hussain: https://x.com/Imran_HussainMP/status/1775818820415815681?s=20
Marsha de Cordova:     https://x.com/MarshadeCordova/status/1775812838428164246?s=20
Jon Trickett: https://x.com/jon_trickett/status/1775788534806225279?s=20
Margaret Greenwood: https://x.com/MGreenwoodWW/status/1775783402085478656?s=20
– Kate Osborne: https://x.com/KateOsborneMP/status/1775593986310168954?s=20
Kim Johnson: https://x.com/KimJohnsonMP/status/1775571104855118177?s=20
Ian Byrne: https://x.com/IanByrneMP/status/1775259457142116618?s=20
Nadia Whittome: https://x.com/NadiaWhittomeMP/status/1775515269680537948?s=20
Paula Barker: https://x.com/PaulaBarkerMP/status/1775498317897535741?s=20
Afzal Khan: https://twitter.com/AfzalKhanMCR/status/1775851459218727414
Sam Tarry: https://x.com/LFPME/status/1775463410508996918?s=20
Andy McDonald: https://x.com/LFPME/status/1775463410508996918?s=20
Naz Shah: https://twitter.com/NazShahBfd/status/1775546323632013780
Rachel Hopkins: https://x.com/rach_hopkins/status/1775467640581935372?s=20
Rachael Maskell: https://x.com/RachaelMaskell/status/1775485428478382253?s=20
Sarah Owen: https://x.com/SarahOwen_/status/1775470776784715804?s=20
Diane Abbott: https://twitter.com/zarahsultana/status/1772898790053155083/photo/3
Paulette Hamilton: https://twitter.com/zarahsultana/status/1772898790053155083/photo/3
Debbie Abrahams: https://twitter.com/zarahsultana/status/1772898790053155083/photo/3
Olivia Blake: https://twitter.com/zarahsultana/status/1772898790053155083/photo/3
Tahir Ali: https://twitter.com/zarahsultana/status/1772898790053155083/photo/3
Dan Carden: https://twitter.com/zarahsultana/status/1772898790053155083/photo/3
Dawn Butler: https://twitter.com/zarahsultana/status/1772898790053155083/photo/3
Jeremy Corbyn: https://twitter.com/zarahsultana/status/1772898790053155083/photo/3
Mary Kelly Foy:  https://twitter.com/zarahsultana/status/1772898790053155083/photo/3
Barry Gardiner: https://twitter.com/zarahsultana/status/1772898790053155083/photo/3
Rosena Allin-Khan: https://twitter.com/zarahsultana/status/1772898790053155083/photo/3
Ben Bradshaw: https://twitter.com/zarahsultana/status/1772898790053155083/photo/3
Julie Elliott: https://twitter.com/zarahsultana/status/1772898790053155083/photo/3
Kate Hollern: https://twitter.com/zarahsultana/status/1772898790053155083/photo/3
Rupa Huq: https://twitter.com/zarahsultana/status/1772898790053155083/photo/3
Ian Lavery: https://twitter.com/zarahsultana/status/1772898790053155083/photo/3
Clive Lewis: https://twitter.com/zarahsultana/status/1772898790053155083/photo/3
Rebecca Long-Bailey: https://twitter.com/zarahsultana/status/1772898790053155083/photo/3
Ian Mearns: https://twitter.com/zarahsultana/status/1772898790053155083/photo/3
Grahame Morris: https://twitter.com/zarahsultana/status/1772898790053155083/photo/3
Charlotte Nicholls:  https://twitter.com/zarahsultana/status/1772898790053155083/photo/3
Jess Phillips: https://twitter.com/zarahsultana/status/1772898790053155083/photo/3
Yasmin Qureshi: https://twitter.com/zarahsultana/status/1772898790053155083/photo/3
Cat Smith: https://twitter.com/zarahsultana/status/1772898790053155083/photo/3
Lloyd Russel-Moyle: https://twitter.com/zarahsultana/status/1772898790053155083/photo/3
Stephen Timms: https://twitter.com/zarahsultana/status/1772898790053155083/photo/3
Valerie Vaz: https://twitter.com/zarahsultana/status/1772898790053155083/photo/3
Mick Whitley: https://twitter.com/zarahsultana/status/1772898790053155083/photo/3
Mohammad Yasin:  https://twitter.com/zarahsultana/status/1772898790053155083/photo/3

Image: London march for ceasefire, January 13th, c/o Labour Hub.

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