A number of Labour MPs have backed calls for Sir Keir Starmer to hold a Chilcot-style inquiry into the UK’s role in the Gaza war.
Thirty-seven MPs, including 10 from Labour, have signed a letter to the prime minister by Jeremy Corbyn, who has demanded a “comprehensive inquiry with legal power to establish the truth”.
Among the signatories are Labour MPs Brian Leishman and Steve Witherden, who were both elected last July, and those on the left including Diane Abbott, Zarah Sultana and Nadia Whittome.
It has also gained the support of MPs in the SNP, Plaid Cymru, Sinn Fein and members of the House of Lords.
Support for the letter, seen by Sky News, risks reigniting internal Labour divisions over Gaza, just as Israel faces accusations of “control and censorship” for denying entry and then deporting two of MPs who had travelled there with a parliamentary delegation.
Israel said it refused entry to Labour’s Abtisam Mohamed and Yuan Yang because it believed they were there to “provoke anti-Israel activities” and spread “anti-Israel hatred”.
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The two MPs, who said they were visiting humanitarian aid projects in the West Bank, have received the support of Foreign Secretary David Lammy, who said the decision was “unacceptable” and no way to treat British parliamentarians”.
Israel is also facing questions over the deaths of 15 emergency workers who were killed near the southern city of Rafah on 23 March and then buried in a “mass grave”, according to Jonathan Whittall, the head of the UN’s humanitarian affairs office.
A preliminary inquiry by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has found that the troops opened fire on a group of vehicles in Gaza, including ambulances, due to a “perceived threat following a previous encounter in the area”.
The IDF also said the early investigation indicated six of those who died “were identified as Hamas terrorists” – although no evidence was presented.
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Labour tensions over Gaza
Sky News understands that Mr Corbyn may seek to force a vote on the issue of an inquiry, potentially through a private members’ bill (PMB), which allows backbench MPs to propose changes to the law.
However, PMBs are rarely successful without government backing.
Internal Labour tensions over Gaza were exposed following Sir Keir’s immediate response to Israel launching its incursion into the enclave after the Hamas terrorist attack on 7 October.
The Labour leader drew criticism for an interview he gave to LBC in which he appeared to suggest that Israel had a right to limit essential supplies, including water and electricity, to Gaza.
He later said he was only referring to the right Israel had to defend itself.
The 7 October attack killed 1,200 Israelis and saw about 250 taken hostage.
More than 50,000 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
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‘Evasion, obstruction and silence’
Mr Corbyn, who sits as an independent MP after he was blocked from standing for Labour at the last election, said he had repeatedly sought answers on the continued sale of components for F-35 jets to Israel, the role of British military bases and the legal definition of genocide – but had been met with “evasion, obstruction and silence”.
As a result, the government was “leaving the public in the dark over the ways in which the responsibilities of government have been discharged”, Mr Corbyn argued.
Drawing parallels with the Chilcot inquiry into the Iraq war – which found the UK’s decision to invade was based on “flawed intelligence and assessments” – Mr Corbyn said history was at risk of “repeating itself”.
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The Chilcot report, which was published in 2016 following a series of delays, criticised former Labour prime minister Sir Tony Blair for not consulting his cabinet before giving George W Bush assurances the UK would be with him “whatever”, eight months before the invasion began.
It also said the circumstances leading up to the then attorney general’s controversial advice that the war was legal – without a second UN resolution – were “far from satisfactory”.
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In his letter, Mr Corbyn said the inquiry he was calling for “should establish exactly what decisions have been taken, how these decisions have been made, and what consequences they have had”.
“Any meaningful inquiry would require the full co-operation from government ministers involved in decision-making processes since October 2023,” he added.
“Many people believe the government has taken decisions that have implicated officials in the gravest breaches of international law.
“These charges will not go away until there is a comprehensive, public, independent inquiry with the legal power to establish the truth.”
Sky News has approached the Foreign Office for comment.
