Pro-Palestine protesters in London call on new UK PM to act on Gaza

Days before Andy Burnham is due to take office as the UK's next prime minister, thousands of people marched through London on Saturday demanding an immediate shift in Britain's policy on Gaza. Demonstrators called on the incoming Labour leader to impose an arms embargo on Israel and pressure Tel Aviv to end its siege and war on the enclave, where more than 73,000 Palestinians have been killed since October 2023.

The demonstration came ahead of Burnham officially becoming prime minister on Monday, with campaigners urging his government to break from the approach taken by the outgoing administration.

Palestinian ambassador to the UK Husam Zomlot said support for accountability continued to grow.

"Three years of ongoing genocide – and the movement for justice and accountability, in Britain and worldwide, is growing louder and stronger," said Husam Zomlot, the Palestinian ambassador to the UK, in a post on X.

More from World

Labour's record under scrutiny

Burnham inherits a party that has faced sustained criticism over its handling of the genocide during the leadership of outgoing Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Although evidence alleging Israeli war crimes continued to mount, Starmer's government maintained its supply of weapons to Israel.

His administration has also been accused of responding with largely symbolic measures, including sanctions against far-right ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich.

Corbyn joins demonstrators

Zomlot was among those leading the march through London as crowds chanted slogans and carried placards expressing support for Palestine.

Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who was expelled from the party under Starmer, also joined the protest and appealed to Burnham to end what he described as Britain's complicity in genocide.

"Thousands of us are in London today with a message to the new Prime Minister: we are not disappearing, we are not going away, and we will never stop campaigning for the liberation of Palestine. End Britain’s complicity in genocide, now," Corbyn said in a post on X.

Beyond foreign policy, Burnham is also preparing to take office amid a cost-of-living crisis, spiralling student debt, a shortage of affordable housing and an exodus of Labour Party members over its response to Gaza.