Refugee charity Choose Love and celebrities including Dua Lipa, Riz Ahmed, Primal Scream and Benedict Cumberbatch have hit back at Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s response to their open letter.
The group put forward a request to “end UK complicity” in Gaza in May, demanding all UK arms sales to Israel are immediately suspended, that there is immediate humanitarian access for experienced aid agencies, and that the government commit to seeking a ceasefire for “the children of Gaza”.
“We urge you to take immediate action to end the UK’s complicity in the horrors in Gaza,” the letter read. It also outlines that children in Gaza are starving, while adequate medicine and food “sit just minutes away”.
Famous figures from the music world who signed the letter include Dua Lipa, Primal Scream, Massive Attack, Paloma Faith and Annie Lennox. Names from the world of television and film include director Danny Boyle, Game Of Thrones star Lena Headey, Bridgerton’s Nicola Coughlan, Benedict Cumberbatch, Riz Ahmed, Maxine Peake, Tilda Swinton, Dermot O’Leary, Gary Lineker, Laura Whitmore and more.
On July 10, Starmer responded to the letter, saying the UK Government has “made it clear to the Government of Israel that the level of human suffering in Gaza is intolerable.” He added: “It is also wholly inadequate that the Government of Israel is only allowing a basic
quantity of food into Gaza.”
He added that the UK “has been clear that if Israel does not halt the renewed military offensive and lift its restrictions on humanitarian aid, we will implement additional decisive measures in response.”
Yesterday (July 31), Choose Love issued a response to Starmer, saying his reply “does not meet the urgency or clarity this moment demands,” adding: “We need actions not words.”
“Prime Minister, you’ve built your career as a human rights lawyer, defending the powerless and challenging injustice,” the letter continues. “In years to come, when you are asked whether you have done enough, what will you say?”
The letter goes on to ask Starmer when the government will stop all military cooperation with the Government of Israel.
“This is a moment that demands moral clarity and political courage,” they write. “Prime Minister, we appeal to your conscience and to the sense of justice and humanity that drew you to public service. We urge you to end the UK’s complicity, uphold your legal and moral obligations, and act now to save lives.”
“The suffering is worse than ever. How can we all watch the bodies of starving
Palestinians — children with protruding ribs, infants too weak to cry? We need actions, not
more words,” it continues. “What are the immediate and substantive “decisive measures” you will take — and when will they be enforced?”
You can read their full response here.
Artist Tracey Emin also signed the initial letter, alongside model Lily Cole, activist Munroe Bergdorf and Holocaust survivor Stephen Kapos.
The Prime Minister has been under increasing pressure from his most senior cabinet ministers and more than a third of MPs to take action on Gaza amid the international outcry over severe malnutrition among the civilian population.
Earlier this week, he announced that the UK intends to recognise Palestinian statehood in September, unless Israel meets a number of conditions in the coming months, including agreeing to a ceasefire in Gaza and reviving the prospect of a two-state solution.
Israel, which controls the entry of all supplies to Gaza, has denied there is starvation in Gaza and rejected accusations of being responsible for food shortages.
It has has been carrying out a full-scale military campaign on occupied Gaza in the nearly-two-years since the October 2023 attack by Hamas at the Israeli music festival Supernova, where 1,195 people were killed.
The UN has found Israel’s military actions to be consistent with genocide, and at least 59,821 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.
The state of Israel strongly denies accusations of genocide and war crimes.
Earlier this week, musicians Paul Weller, Primal Scream, Inhaler and more announced for a new ‘Gig For Gaza’ live event in London.
The event, described as a “special night of music and solidarity”, will take place on Friday October 17 at the historic TROXY venue in London. It comes in a bid to raise funds for those affected by the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
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