For the third week in a row, hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets of London last Saturday to demand an immediate ceasefire to Israel’s current war on Gaza. But yesterday, the UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman labelled these protests “hate marches".
On the same day, Tory MP Paul Bristow was asked to leave his job after he called for a humanitarian ceasefire in a letter to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. A Downing Street spokeswoman explained that this was “not consistent with the principles of collective responsibility".
Even in the opposition Labour Party, politicians have suffered consequences for calling for a ceasefire or displaying pro-Palestine sentiments. A senior Labour MP, Andy McDonald, was suspended from the parliamentary party yesterday following “deeply offensive” comments he made at a pro-Palestine rally over the weekend.
At the march on Saturday, he said: “We won't rest until we have justice. Until all people, Israelis and Palestinians, between the river and the sea, can live in peaceful liberty.” Labour Party leader Keir Starmer spoke in London today and reiterated his party’s position on the conflict: “While I understand calls for a ceasefire at this stage, I do not believe that it is the correct position now.”
Produced by Alexander Durie
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