STAYING FIRM
Sir Keir Starmer stands by decision to reject calls for Gaza ceasefire in face of dissenting Labour voices
SIR Keir Starmer today stood firmly by his decision to reject calls for a ceasefire in Gaza, as the number of dissenting Labour voices grow.
In a major speech at Chatham House, the opposition chief insisted that an immediate ceasefire would only allow Hamas to regather strength and plot more barbaric terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians.
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Before speaking Sir Keir was met by dozens of pro-Palestine protestors who waved banners calling for a ceasefire and yelled profanities in his face.
At the end of the speech the chaos continued, with Met cops even having to step in to guard the Labour Leader as he moved to his car.
Crowds chanted: "Keir Starmer's a wasteman and a coward".
In his speech Sir Keir argued that Israel has a fundamental right to defend itself - but must do so in the confines of international law.
Pressed on whether that's happening, the Labour boss says it will take time to make those complex judgements.
Sir Keir also renewed calls for a "humanitarian pause" in the fighting so desperately needed aid can flow through to Gaza.
He added that as the scene on the ground changes "we must move to cessation of fighting as quickly as possible" because the solution to the conflict cannot be delivered by "bombs and bullets".
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Sir Keir said: "I understand calls for a ceasefire at this stage, but I do not believe that it is the correct position now.
"A ceasefire always freezes any conflict in the state where it currently lives.
"That would leave Hamas with the infrastructure and the capability to carry out the sort of attack we saw on October 7th."
The Labour chief added: "The right to self-defence is fundamental, but it is not a blank cheque.
"Every step must be taken to protect civilians from bombardment. Palestinians should not be forced to leave their homes en masse. But where they have no choice but to flee within Gaza, we need crystal-clear guarantees that they will be able to return quickly.
"You cannot overstate the importance of this last point."
As the conflict broke out Sir Keir was pushed into the largest test of his authority within Labour for months.
The opposition boss had managed to captain a tight and disciplined ship.
But now senior Labour figures have broken rank to disavow their leader's decision not to call for a ceasefire.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan, Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham and Scottish Labour Leader Anas Sarwar have all publicly come out against the party line.
Today Sir Keir insisted his party is "not being torn apart" and "there is unity".
"There is unity in what we want to see, which is the alleviation of the awful situation in Gaza," the Labour Leader said.
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"It is for me to address collective responsibility, I recognise that.
"It matters and I take that duty extremely seriously, but I put it in the context of understanding what is driving people in the call for a ceasefire, which is in my judgment not the call that we should be making as things stand for the reasons I have set out."
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