KEIR Starmer’s legacy will “forever be marred” for lending support to Israel during the genocide in Gaza, a top charity has said.
The outgoing Prime Minister, who stepped down on Monday recognising he had lost the support of his MPs, will be remembered for selling weapons to Israel while it flattened Gaza and starved civilians, according to Medical Aid for Palestinians (Map).
In his resignation speech in Downing Street, Starmer claimed to have restored “the rule of law” on the global stage.
But Rohan Talbot, director of advocacy and campaigns for Map, said his premiership would be remembered for his “inaction in the face of Israel’s atrocities”.
He said: “Keir Starmer, announcing his resignation today, claims he has stood by the rule of law during his premiership. But this international record will forever be marred by half measures and inaction in the face of Israel’s atrocities.
"Under Starmer’s leadership, the UK continued to provide arms to Israel while its forces bombed Gaza's hospitals into rubble and deliberately starved an entire population of the food and medicines they needed to survive.
"Today, there is not a single fully functioning hospital left in Gaza. Doctors and nurses have been killed, forced to flee, or left struggling to work without the supplies and safety they need. An entire generation of Palestinians are scarred by the physical and emotional toll of Israel’s ongoing genocide, apartheid and illegal occupation.”
Starmer appears certain to be replaced in No 10 by Andy Burnham, the new MP for Makerfield, after Wes Streeting rowed in behind the former Greater Manchester mayor ahead of his return to the Commons.
Streeting’s move all but eliminates the possibility of a leadership contest, but one would still be possible if another challenger got enough nominations to get on the ballot.
Talbot said that whoever came after Starmer “must not be an ally to atrocities”.
He said: “Whoever walks into Downing Street next must do what Starmer would not to end these horrors: stop providing arms to Israel, stop trading with illegal settlements in the West Bank, guarantee unrestricted humanitarian access, and ensure that those responsible for crimes against humanity are held fully accountable.
“Respect for international law is measured by actions, not rhetoric. The next Prime Minister must not be an ally to atrocities.”
