Andy Burnham has apologised for Labour’s initial response to Israel’s military action in Gaza, saying the party “didn’t get it right” and needs to “do better” under his leadership – a significant shift as he prepares to become prime minister on 20 July.
Burnham, who returned to Parliament winning a by-election in Makerfield and has been backed by 322 Labour MPs, will be declared party leader at an event at the end of next week. In a video posted on social media on Thursday, 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.”
“Andy Burnham apologises for Labour’s initial Gaza response, saying ‘we didn’t get it right’ as he prepares to become PM.”
His apology directly addresses the controversy that engulfed Sir Keir Starmer after an LBC interview on 11 October 2023 in which he said Israel “has the right” to withhold power and water from Gaza – remarks it took nearly 10 days to clarify. Burnham was one of several high-profile Labour figures calling for a ceasefire by late October 2023, putting him at odds with Starmer, who backed only humanitarian pauses at the time.
Burnham condemned the 7 October Hamas attack and subsequent antisemitic violence in Britain, including synagogue attacks in Manchester. But he said there was “no contradiction” between a zero-tolerance approach to antisemitism and holding Israel to account. He praised Labour’s subsequent recognition of a Palestinian state, sanctions on Israeli ministers and settlers, and restrictions on arms licences, but added: “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 accused Israel of violating the US-brokered ceasefire agreement and said there had been a surge in settler violence in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, as well as continued expansion of illegal settlements. “Netanyahu’s government is clearly attempting to make a two-state solution impossible,” he said. Burnham said the UK needed to consider further sanctions and a potential ban on trade in goods with illegal settlements.
However, he stopped short of describing events in Gaza as genocide, saying there was “increasing evidence that war crimes appear to have been committed” but that it was for international courts to determine. The Green party deputy leader, Mothin Ali, accused 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”.
Burnham described the suffering in Gaza as “a scar on our collective conscience”. His apology may irritate Starmer, whose initial stance caused public fury that Labour struggled to shake off, driving younger voters to the Green Party.