Benedict Cumberbatch and Dua Lipa among 300 public figures calling UK government to end 'complicity' in Gaza
More than 300 public figures have signed an open letter calling on the British government to cease what they describe as its 'complicity in the horrors in Gaza.'
The letter was initiated by the UK-based charity Choose Love and is addressed to UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. It features figures from across the entertainment industry, including Benedict Cumberbatch, Dua Lipa, Annie Lennox, Tilda Swinton and Riz Ahmed.
'We urge you to take immediate action to end the UK's complicity in the horrors in Gaza,' the letter, obtained by Sky News, reads. 'Right now, children in Gaza are starving while food and medicine sit just minutes away, blocked at the border. Words won't feed Palestinian children – we need action. Every single one of Gaza's 2.1 million people is at risk of starvation, as you read this.
'Mothers, fathers, babies, grandparents – an entire people left to starve before the world's eyes," the letter continues. "290,000 children are on the brink of death – starved by the Israeli government for more than 70 days.'
The letter urges the British government to block sales of UK arms to Israel. It also calls for immediate humanitarian access to Palestinians for aid agencies, and for the UK to help in brokering a ceasefire.
'Words won't save the lives of Palestinian children as they are being killed, words won't fill their empty stomachs,' Josie Naughton, co-founder and chief executive of Choose Love, said in the open letter.
'We need action from Keir Starmer now. That means stopping all arms sales and licences, making sure that legitimate humanitarian organisations can reach people in Gaza. It means doing everything possible to make these horrors end. Action is a choice, just as inaction is one. History will remember what we did in this moment. We are begging the Prime Minister to make the right choice.'
The letter was co-signed a handful of Arab figures, including surgeon Dr Ghassan Abu Sitta and filmmakers Farah Nabulsi and Waad Al Kateab.
'History is written in moments of moral clarity,' the letter concludes. "This is one. The world is watching and history will not forget. The children of Gaza cannot wait another minute. Prime Minister, what will you choose? Complicity in war crimes, or the courage to act?'
Israel's war on Gaza has killed at least 54,084 Palestinians and injured 123,308 since October 7, 2023, the enclave's Health Ministry said on Wednesday. Israel resumed military operations in the territory on March 18 ending a two-month ceasefire. Since then, 3,924 people have been killed. The Israeli military began its offensive after Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel and killed 1,200 people.
The complete list of signatories:
Abigail Lawrie
Abnit Nijjar
Afua Hirsch
Aimee Croysdill
Aisling Bea
Aiysha Hart
Alewya
Alex Eagle
Alex Hannaby
Alex Lockwood
Alex Lawther
Alex Boateng
Alexei Sayle
Alexi Lubomirski
Alexis Bamforth
Alice Aedy
Alison Oliver
Amalia Vitale
Amanda Rajkumar
Amber Massie-Blomfield
Amelia Dimoldenberg
Amy Jackson
Anais Aida
Andi Oliver
Andrea Kapos
Andrea Riseborough
Andrew Wilkinson
Andy Sewell
Anna Chancellor
Anna Hussain
Annabelle Wallis
Annie Lennox
Annie Mac
Anoushka Shankar
April De Angelis
Asif Kapadia
Basma Khalifa
Becky Bowe
Becky Hill
Bella Freud
Ben Howard
Benedict Cumberbatch
Bill Paterson
Brian Cox
Brian Eno
Caitriona Balfe
Callum Grieve
Camilla Brady
Camilla Whitehill
Camille Charriere
Candice Brathwaite
Carmen Busquets
Cassandra Stavrou
Cathy Runciman
Cecily Eno
Celina Teague
Charlene Ryan
Charlie Waterhouse
Charlie Murphy
Charlie Brooker
Chloe Abrahams
Chris O'Dowd
Clare Patey
Clover Hogan
Cosima Davies
Courttia Newland
Dame Harriet Walter
Dame Tracey Emin DBE RA
Dan Smith
Daniel Lismore
Danny Boyle
David Lan
Dawn O'Porter
Dawn Butler
Daze Aghaji
Deanna Rodger
Deborah Curtis
Deborah Frances-White
Deirdre Moran
Denise Gough
Dermot O'Leary
Díana Bermudez
Dr Ghassan Abu-Sitta
Dr Inua Ellams MBE, FRSA, FRSL
Dr James Smith
Dua Lipa
Dylan Brady
Ed Burnside
Ed Gillespie
Edward Davis
Eleanor Tomlinson
Elizabeth Slade
Ellis Howard
Emma Findlay
Emma Naomi
Eve De Haan
Eve Ensler
Everyday Racism
Farah Nabulsi
Farrah O'connor
Federico Gaggio
Felix White
Fisayo Akinade
Frederica Lovell-Pank
Gary Lineker
Geoff Lumb
George Gwynne
Giada Lubomirski
Gideon Berger
Giles Duley
Giles Taylor
Gizzi Erskine
Grace Campbell
HAAi
Hannah Menzies
Hannah Lowe
Harriet Walter
Harry Williams
Hildegard Bechtler
Himesh Patel
Ian Drysdale
Ian Kershaw
Ian Rickson
Ieuan Williams
Imad Al Arnab
Imran Yusuf
Indira Varma
Isabella Nefar
Jack Casey
Jack Rooke
Jake Dunn
James Smith
James McVey
Jamie Byng
Jan Woolf
Jemima Khan
Jen Brister
Jess Mills
Jessica Fostekew
Jessie Ware
Jo Rendle
Joel Gray
Joel Murphy
John Fass
John Keane
John Lithgow
Johnny Bleasdale
Jolyon Maugham KC
Jolyon Rubinstein
Jon Hopkins
Jonathan Pryce
Jordan Stephens
Joy Crookes
Julie Hesmondhalgh
Juliet Stevenson
Juno Dawson
Katharine Hamnett
Kathy Lette
Katie Davies
Katie Leung
Kelly Eastwood
Kerry McDermott
Khalid Abdalla
Konnie Huq
Laline Paull
Lara Savikl
Laura Hawkins
Laura Whitmore
Laura Bailey
Lauren Lyle
Lauren Mayberry
LED BY DONKEYS
Lee Hall
Lena De casparis
Lena Headey
Lennie Ware
Leyla Hussein
Liam Smith
Lilly Heine
Lily Cole
Linda Maitland
Lise Mayer
Livia Giuggioli Firth
Lolly Adefope
Lorna Tucker-McGarvey
Lottie Coll
Louisa Young
Love Ssega
Lydia West
Mabel
Mackenzie Davis
Maddy Neghabian
Mae Martin
Malcolm Garrett
Marcia Cross
Margo Mars
Mark Grimmer
Mark Ruffalo
Marli Siu
MASSIVE ATTACK
Matt Black
Matt Haig
Max Porter
Maxine Peake
Meera Soda
Melisa Basol
Merck Mercuriadis
Mhoira Leng
Michael Collins
Michelle Mao
Misan Harriman
Mohsan Alvi
Morgan Spector
Moss Barclay
Munroe Bergdorf
Myriam Francois
Nabhaan Rizwan
Nadia Sawalha
Najjib Rahman
Nancy Strang
Nansi Nsue
Natalie Pinkham
Nathalie Emmanuel
Nathaniel Curtis
Neil Griffiths
Neneh Cherry
Nicholas Donovan
Nicola Coughlan
Nicola Thorp
Nicole Cox
Nihal Arthanayake
Nikesh Shukla
Nikesh Patel
Nikita Gill
Nilly (Pauline) Brook
Nish Kumar
Noé Sébert
Noomi Rapace
Olivia Marcus
Olivia West
Oluwakemi Davies
Omar Abdel-Mannan
Onjali Q Rauf
Ophelie Bedier
Paapa Essiedu
Paloma Faith
Patrick Walker
Paul Ewen
Paul Laverty
Paul Reynolds
Payzee Mahmod
Pete Wyer
Peter Straughan
Phoebe Collings-James
Poppy Ajudha
Primal Scream
Professor Jacqueline Rose
Rachel Chinouriri
Raghib Ali
Rebecca Hall
Rehana Kapadia
Richard Bacon
Riz Ahmed
Robert Diament
Robert Gilbert
Roger Hartley
Rosa Hesmondhalgh
Rose Williams
Rosie O'Donnell
Ruby Stokes
Ruth Negga
Sabrina Mahfouz
Sadie Frost
Salena Godden
Sam Fender
Sam Roddick
Samuel West
Savannah Miller
Scott ODonnell
Seamus McGarvey
Shalini Peiris
Shappi Khorsandi
Sharmadean Reid
Sharon Watson
Shelagh Wright
Sheridan Kates
Shola Mos-Shogbamimu
Siobhan McSweeney
Sophia Di Martino
Sophie Hunter
Sophie Willan
Stephen Kapos
Steve Coogan
Sunetra Sarker
Susan Wokoma
Sydney Lima
Sylvia Banafsheh Brook
Taban Shoresh OBE
Tadhg Hickey
Tallulah Greive
Tanya Haj-Hassan
Tilda Swinton
Tim McInnerny
Tobias Menzies
Toby Jones
Tom Rutherford
Tony 'Gad' Robinson
Tracey Seaward
Twana Omer
Tyler Richardson
Tyson McVey
Vic Hope
Victoria Harwood
Victoria Moseley
Waad Al Kateab
Waleed Elgadi
Will Attenborough
Will Sharpe
WolfAlice
Wretch 32
Yasmin Evans
Yomi Adegoke
Zareen Rahman
Zarlasht Halaimzai
Zawe Ashton
Zowie Broach
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Khaleej Times
2 hours ago
- Khaleej Times
Hamas response to ceasefire offer 'totally unacceptable', says US envoy
The US envoy to the Middle East on Saturday criticised Hamas over its response to a US-proposed ceasefire deal, with the militant group saying it would free 10 living hostages from Gaza. "It is totally unacceptable and only takes us backward," Steve Witkoff wrote on X. "Hamas should accept the framework proposal we put forward as the basis for proximity talks, which we can begin immediately this coming week. "That is the only way we can close a 60-day ceasefire deal in the coming days in which half of the living hostages and half of those who are deceased will come home to their families and in which we can have at the proximity talks substantive negotiations in good-faith to try to reach a permanent ceasefire," he added.
Khaleej Times
3 hours ago
- Khaleej Times
Hamas military leader Mohammed Sinwar killed on May 13, Israeli forces say
The Israeli military said on Saturday it killed Mohammad Sinwar, Hamas' Gaza chief on May 13, confirming what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier this week. Mohammed Sinwar was the target of an Israeli strike on a hospital in southern Gaza earlier this month. Netanyahu said on Wednesday that he had been killed. Mohammad Sinwar was the younger brother of Yahya Sinwar, the Palestinian group's deceased leader and mastermind of the October 2023 attack on Israel. Hamas has neither confirmed nor denied his death.
The National
5 hours ago
- The National
Hamas seeks guarantees on Israeli withdrawal in response to Gaza ceasefire plan
Hamas has given a conditional nod to the Gaza truce plan presented by US envoy Steve Witkoff, with the group's reservations focused on assurances it seeks on Israel's withdrawal from Palestinian territory and the distribution of aid, sources told The National on Saturday. They said Hamas's response to the plan was handed to Qatar and Egypt, whose mediators in turn fine-tuned it in co-operation with Hamas's leaders. Hamas's response, reached after extensive consultations with its allies in Gaza, seeks firm assurances that negotiations with Israel during the proposed 60-day truce will bring about an Israeli withdrawal and an end to the war, according to the sources. Israel has long maintained it would not end the war until all hostages are released and Hamas's governing and military capabilities are dismantled. Hamas is also seeking clarifications on the quantity, nature and distribution of the humanitarian aid that will enter Gaza if a deal is reached. It also wants to stagger the release of 10 living hostages cited by the plan over the course of the 60-day truce, not in batches as previously. "Hamas believes that releasing the 10 hostages one by one or two by two throughout the truce will help ensure Israel's continuous commitment to the deal," said one of the sources. Hamas is believed to be holding about 58 hostages, of whom about 20 are alive, according to the military in Israel, which has already accepted the plan. Under the plan, it is expected to hand over the remains of 18 hostages. In a vaguely-phrased statement, Hamas said on Saturday its response to the plan included a demand for an end to the war. "This proposal aims to achieve a permanent ceasefire, a comprehensive withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and ensure the flow of aid to our people and our families in the Gaza Strip." Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said Hamas must agree to the ceasefire proposal or be destroyed. "The Hamas murderers will now be forced to choose: accept the terms of the 'Witkoff Deal' for the release of the hostages - or be annihilated," he said. The latest proposal to pause the war in Gaza comes after repeated attempts by mediators failed to achieve a breakthrough, with Israel resuming military operations on March 18 after the end of a two-month truce brokered by mediators from the United States, Egypt and Qatar. Sources told The National on Friday that Hamas was dissatisfied with the plan's lack of 'genuine guarantees' that the proposed negotiations with Israel would lead to an end to the war and Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. They said Hamas believed the plan left the prospect of an Israeli withdrawal and a long-term truce dependent on the progress of the negotiations, rather than the fruition of the process, the sources said. Hamas also believes the plan ignores its suggestions on the timeline and dynamics of the handover of hostages and fails to treat the delivery of aid into Gaza as a human right, leaving the process closely linked to the proposed plan and, subsequently, subject to Israel's use of food as a weapon. Under the plan, the resumption of humanitarian aid would involve 1,000 lorries a day to quickly address the widespread hunger and acute shortages of medicine and other essentials among Gaza's 2.3 million population, the sources said. A distribution plan drafted by UN experts for its personnel and members of affiliated agencies has been handed to Israeli authorities, the sources said. Besides a long-term ceasefire and Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, the proposed negotiations during the truce will, according to the plan, tackle sensitive issues including the governing of postwar Gaza, the fate of Hamas's weapons and the exile abroad of its senior officials, the sources said. Hamas has already suggested it would keep away from governing Gaza and any reconstruction effort and has said it is open to laying down and storing its weapons under international supervision, but not surrendering them. It has also indicated that it will agree to some of its senior officials, as well as some from allied groups such as Palestinian Islamic Jihad, leaving Gaza to live in exile – provided they are not attacked later by Israel. The Gaza war was caused by a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel that killed 1,200 people. Hamas fighters also took about 250 hostage. Israel responded with a relentless military campaign that has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians and injured more than twice that number, Gaza's Health Ministry has said. The war also laid to waste most of the enclave's built-up areas.
