Latest news with #ChilcotInquiry
Days of Palestine
2 days ago
- Politics
- Days of Palestine
Corbyn Secures Parliamentary Backing to Introduce Inquiry Bill into Gaza Genocide
DayofPal– Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has cleared a significant hurdle in his campaign to launch a formal investigation into the United Kingdom's complicity the Israeli 'genocide in Gaza.' On Wednesday, Corbyn was granted permission by Parliament to introduce a bill that would establish a full public inquiry into the UK's military and political ties to Israel. The inquiry, he said, would be modeled on the landmark Chilcot Inquiry, which examined Britain's role in the Iraq War. 'The public deserves to know the full extent of the UK's complicity in these atrocities,' Corbyn told MPs during remarks in the House of Commons. 'We cannot allow our role in the suffering of Palestinians to go unexamined.' The motion was introduced by the newly formed Independent Alliance, a bloc led by Corbyn and composed of pro-Palestinian MPs elected during the last general election. In a notable development, the motion passed without opposition from any sitting MP, allowing the bill to advance to a second reading. If passed, the proposed legislation would establish an independent inquiry into UK arms sales to Israel, as well as the use of RAF Akrotiri, a British airbase in Cyprus, for potential military coordination linked to the ongoing war in Gaza. Corbyn has proposed July 4 as the date for the bill's second reading, setting the stage for a potentially contentious debate on the UK's foreign policy and defence commitments in the Middle East. The bill represents a historic political moment. It is the first time that the UK Parliament has formally considered launching an investigation into the country's role in the Gaza war, which has claimed tens of thousands of lives since the onset of the war in October 2023. While the bill faces considerable legislative hurdles ahead, its introduction underscores growing pressure within Westminster to confront Britain's accountability in international war. Shortlink for this post:
Powys County Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Powys County Times
Parliament moves closer to setting up Iraq war-style inquiry into Gaza conflict
A Chilcot-style inquiry would uncover the 'murky history of what's gone on' in Gaza, Jeremy Corbyn has said. Parliament moved a step closer to setting up a probe after MPs agreed that the Gaza (Independent Public Inquiry) Bill should be listed for a debate later this year. The draft new law would 'require the inquiry to consider any UK military, economic or political co-operation with Israel since October 2023', the month when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel and killed around 1,200 people and kidnapped more than 250 others. Israel's retaliatory offensive has seen more than 54,000 people in Gaza killed, according to the territory's health ministry. 'Our future history books will report with shame those that had the opportunity to stop this carnage but failed to act to achieve it, and so we will continue our campaigns in this House and outside because we're appalled at what is happening,' the former Labour Party leader told the Commons. Mr Corbyn, the Independent MP for Islington North, had earlier said: 'In the aftermath of the Iraq war, several attempts were made to establish an inquiry surrounding the conduct of the British military operations. 'The government of the day spent many years resisting those attempts and those demands for an inquiry, however, they could not prevent the inevitable and in 2016 we had the publication of the Chilcot Inquiry, which Sir John Chilcot had undertaken over several years.' Mr Corbyn added that when he was the Labour leader, when the 12-volume report came out, he 'apologised on behalf of the Labour Party for the catastrophic decision to go to war in Iraq' and added: 'History is now repeating itself.' He warned that 'human beings have endured a level of horror and inhumanity that should haunt us all forever – entire families wiped out, limbs strewn across the street, mothers screaming for their children buried under the rubble, human beings torn to pieces, doctors performing amputations without anaesthetic, children picking grass and dirt from the ground thinking they might find something edible to eat'. Mr Corbyn alleged that the UK had a 'highly influential role in Israel's military operations', including by supplying weapons, and also said a future inquiry should seek the 'truth regarding the role of British military bases in Cyprus' and Government 'legal advice over an assessment of genocide'. He said the inquiry would uncover the 'murky history of what's gone on, the murky arms sales and the complicity in appalling acts of genocide'. Deputy Speaker Nus Ghani called 'order' when several MPs applauded, as Mr Corbyn presented his Bill.
The Guardian
3 days ago
- General
- The Guardian
How exactly has Britain supported Israel's military assault on Gaza? The public has a right to know
Hussam, 13, and Muhammad, 14, were killed by air-dropped cluster bombs. These bombs were made by the United States and were dropped in a military campaign supported by the British government. Hussam and Muhammad were born in Baghdad and died in 2003. 'The bomblet ripped off their legs and ultimately killed them,' according to Human Rights Watch. They were two of about 200,000 civilians who were killed in the Iraq war. For years after that conflict, the government tried to resist several attempts to establish an inquiry into the policymaking of British officials. However, it could not prevent the inevitable – and in 2016 we had the publication of the Chilcot inquiry. I was the leader of the Labour party when the report was published, and it found grave failings within the British government. After I had responded to the Chilcot inquiry in parliament that day, I then went over the road to Church House, where we had invited war veterans, Iraqis and the families of British soldiers who had lost their lives. I apologised on behalf of the party for its catastrophic decision to go to war in Iraq. Today, history is repeating itself – and a Labour government is making another grave mistake. After 20 months of Israeli bombardment, the death toll in Gaza has exceeded 54,000. As for the survivors, the injured and the bereaved – they will face lifelong scars for generations to come. Israel has not been acting alone. It has relied on military, economic and political support from governments around the world. Britain may have had a change in government since 7 October 2023, but one thing has remained constant: the steady supply of arms to Israel. Last year, between October and December alone, Labour approved more arms exports licences to Israel than the Conservatives approved between 2020 and 2023. This was in spite of the government's announcement of a part suspension in September 2024. Many of us have continued to express our disgust over the continued supply of components to the F-35 jet fighter programme. I remain astounded that the government openly admits it is making an 'exception' to its part suspension. Is this an exception to its legal obligations to prevent genocide? One thing is beyond doubt: this government is still allowing the supply of arms to a nation whose leader is wanted by the international criminal court for alleged crimes against humanity. We have also repeatedly asked for the truth regarding the role of British military bases in Cyprus, concerning the transfer of arms to Israel and the supply of military intelligence. When Keir Starmer visited RAF Akrotiri in December 2024, he was filmed telling troops: 'The whole world is relying on you, and everybody back at home is relying on you.' He added: 'Quite a bit of what goes on here can't necessarily be talked about all of the time … We can't necessarily tell the world what you're doing here.' What does the government have to hide? Our questions have been met with evasion, obstruction and silence, leaving the public in the dark over the ways in which the responsibilities of government have been discharged. Transparency and accountability are cornerstones of democracy. The British public deserves to know the full scale of the UK's complicity in crimes against humanity. That is why I am tabling a private members' bill tomorrow calling for a full, public, independent inquiry into the UK's role in Israel's military assault in Gaza. This inquiry would seek to establish the truth about Britain's military, economic or political cooperation with Israel since October 2023. Any meaningful inquiry would require the full cooperation of government ministers – Conservative and Labour – who have been involved in the decision-making processes. This inquiry must find out: what arms have been supplied to Israel? Which of these arms have been used to kill Palestinians? What legal advice has the government received? Is RAF Akrotiri being used as a route for weapons to be deployed in Gaza? What video footage does the government have of the war zone? What intelligence has been passed to Israel? Over the past 20 months, human beings have endured a level of horror and inhumanity that should haunt us for ever. Entire families wiped out. Limbs strewn across the street. Mothers screaming for their children torn to pieces. Doctors performing amputations without anaesthesia. Home by home, hospital by hospital, generation by generation. We have not been witnessing a war. We have been witnessing a genocide, livestreamed before the entire world. No one can pretend they did not know what was happening. In October 2023, we warned that we were witnessing the beginning of the total annihilation of Gaza and its people. We said Palestinians were being collectively punished for a terrible crime they did not commit. We pleaded with political leaders to call for peace. We were ignored. Today, some politicians have finally started to backtrack, perhaps frightened by the consequences of their inhumanity. If they had any integrity, they would weep for the 54,000 Palestinians buried under the rubble by their moral and political cowardice. Today, schoolchildren are taught about history's worst crimes against humanity. In the future, our history books will shame those who had the opportunity to stop this massacre but instead chose to enable one of the greatest crimes of our time. This issue is not going away – and we are not going anywhere. The government must decide: will it support this inquiry, or will it block our efforts to establish the truth? Jeremy Corbyn is the MP for Islington North. He was leader of the Labour party from 2015 to 2020 Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.
The Independent
24-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Alastair Campbell insists he and Tony Blair didn't lie over Iraq: ‘It turned out to be untrue'
Alastair Campbell has insisted he and Tony Blair did not lie over the government's decision to invade Iraq but that the reason behind the decision turned out to be 'untrue'. The former No 10 spin doctor made the comments during a talk at Wales' Hay Festival, which The Independent has partnered with. 'I got called a liar a lot; Tony Blair got called a liar a lot over Iraq,' he said. 'I know that we didn't lie. We made a decision based upon a premise that turned out to be untrue. It's not the same as a lie.' He added: 'Lying is when you are expressing something you know to be untrue. So Putin knows he invaded Ukraine. He knows it's not a special military operation because he's trying to wipe out another country.' Mr Campbell was Downing Street's director of communications and strategy while Mr Blair was in office and became one of the Labour prime minister's most trusted aides. He and Mr Blair have faced fierce criticism since the UK's invasion of Iraq, particularly over the dossier on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, which was used to justify the invasion. The claims in the dossiers were later called into question when no WMD were found. Mr Campbell stood down amid the fallout but in 2016, the Chilcot Inquiry cleared him of the much-repeated accusation that he 'sexed up' the dossier. He has since said he 'wished Iraq never happened'. He is now the co-host of the award-winning podcast The Rest Is Politics where he and ex-Tory MP Rory Stewart discuss UK news and politics, and has also written 21 books including some about mental health. He spoke at a busy event at Hay Festival about his new book, But What Can I Do?: Why Politics Has Gone So Wrong, and How You Can Help Fix It. The wide-ranging talk covered other topics including his own issues with mental health and the dangers of populism in today's political landscape. Opening up about his brother's 'life changing' schizophrenia diagnosis, he went on to describe his own struggle with mental health. 'I had my own issues, I had a breakdown in 1996 and issues with addiction,' he said. 'I was a journalist and journalism back then was quite macho, heavy drinking, heavy smoking. I got arrested, I was in hospital. When I was let out and finally went back to work, everybody knew something had gone on. 'I just decided there and then - I'm going to be open. And it was amazing, the response from colleagues.' Since leaving office, he has gone on to be involved in a number of mental health charities, and spoken openly about being close to suicide. Hay Festival, which is pread over 11 days, is set in Hay-on-Wye, the idyllic and picturesque 'Town of Books'. The lineup includes Mary Trump, Michael Sheen, Jameela Jamil, and more. The Independent has partnered with the Festival once again to host a series of morning panels titled The News Review, where our journalists will explore current affairs with leading figures from politics, science, the arts and comedy every morning.
