Burnham apologises for Labour’s response to Gaza conflict, but stops short of genocide claim

Want LBC stories before everyone else? Set us as your Preferred Source on Google

The likely next prime minister said the UK should be “clear in our criticism of what has happened in Gaza”, while also condemning Hamas’s attack on October 7 2023 and subsequent acts of antisemitic violence in Britain.

In a video posted to social media, he said: “I know many people feel that at the start of Israel’s military action in Gaza, my party didn’t get it right and I am sorry about that.

“The response has too often not been good enough. We need to do better.”

The apology comes as Mr Burnham received the backing of 322 MPs, all but guaranteeing he will become the Prime Minister next week.

The figure means that Mr Burnham needs just one more Labour MP to nominate him for leader to guarantee he runs for the role unopposed.

Read more: Andy Burnham wins backing of 322 MPs - all but guaranteeing his coronation as Prime Minister

Read more: Reform UK calls on activists to abandon Manchester Mayoral election and head to Clacton to assist Farage by-election

While he acknowledged Labour had subsequently recognised a Palestinian state, imposed restrictions on arms exports and sanctioned some Israeli ministers, he suggested a government under his leadership would go further.

Mr Burnham said: “Let’s be honest, the UK was too slow to call for a ceasefire and we must now do more to strengthen our approach.”

He added that action would include “looking at further sanctions, both on those involved in the violence in Gaza, but also looking at measures to ban trade in goods with illegal settlements”.

But he stopped short of accusing Israel of perpetrating a genocide against Palestinians, as some Labour MPs have.

Mr Burnham said there was “increasing evidence that war crimes appear to have been committed”, but added it was ultimately a matter for international courts rather than politicians to determine.

Former chancellor Jeremy Hunt suggested he was “a bit worried” by Mr Burnham’s intervention, warning Labour’s position on Gaza had involved difficult judgments rather than easy political choices.

Speaking to LBC’s Andrew Marr, Mr Hunt said: “I’m no fan of the way Israel has behaved in Gaza,” but added that the government had been “wrestling with precisely those trade-offs” involved in balancing relations with Israel, the US and Britain’s influence in the Middle East.

Mr Hunt argued that a more strident stance may have made Sir Keir Starmer “popular temporarily”, but “wouldn’t have helped a lot in our influence”.

He added: “I hope this is a bit of an aberration,” saying the country needed “someone who persuades us of the need to make difficult choices, not someone who tells us it’s all going to be very easy, just let me get my hands on the levers of power.”

Green Party deputy leader Mothin Ali accused Mr Burnham of hiding behind international courts “because admitting that the British Government knows war crimes are being committed would trigger a legal duty to immediately halt arms sales”.

Mr Ali compared Mr Burnham’s comments to condemnation of Russia, saying: “If you asked Andy Burnham whether Russia has committed war crimes in Ukraine, he’d say ‘yes’.”

In his statement, Mr Burnham said he was “appalled by what I have seen and read about the destruction of Gaza”, describing the experience of Palestinians in the territory as “a scar on our collective conscience”.

And he stressed his condemnation of both the October 7 attacks by Hamas and antisemitic violence in Britain, saying: “We must continue to stamp out antisemitism across the UK.”

Labour’s initial response to Israel’s military action in Gaza, including resisting demands to call for an immediate ceasefire, drew strong criticism from some of the party’s supporters, with the issue driving a significant shift of particularly younger voters towards the Green Party.

On Thursday, trade minister Sir Chris Bryant said the Government was “actively considering” a ban on trade with illegal Israeli settlements, but suggested there were challenges around determining the source of goods.

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper told a conference hosted by the Chatham House think tank that the Government was already “looking at what more we can do” on both sanctions and restrictions on trade.

Asked about Mr Burnham’s comments, she said: “I think some of the things that he’s talked about today is about recognising how devastating it is, the humanitarian crisis that is happening now in Gaza, and also the escalating tensions around the West Bank.

“I think also I know from conversations I’ve had with him, he is interested in some of the points that I was talking about earlier about areas that we’re looking at to try and go further around the sanctions regime and also looking at the issues around trade with illegal settlements.”

ActionAid UK co-chief executives Hannah Bond and Taahra Ghazi welcomed Mr Burnham’s comments but said the UK “must now act decisively to right this wrong”, including by imposing a full arms embargo, banning trade with illegal settlements and suspending the UK-Israel trade agreement.

Speaking to LBC's Tonight with Andrew Marr, prominent pro-Palestinian journalist Mehdi Hassan also welcomed Mr Burnham's comments, but added that they were "not enough".

Mehdi told Andrew: "You can condemn Hamas's attack on October 7th and also say that what Israel did in response was war crimes, was genocide, is now currently ethnic cleansing.

"And Starmer has lately tried to take a stronger stance, as have most European governments, but it's been two and a half years of genocide."

Mehdi concluded: "So the next British Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, has to have a strong stance on it. Yeah. And he's taken a bit of time, but it's a good start. Clearly, it's not enough, but it's a good start."