The truth is Burnham’s mea culpa on Gaza was nothing but a change in tone Submitted by Barry Malone on Thu, 07/16/2026 - 15:09 Britain’s anointed prime minister's Gaza apology contained nothing of substance for the victims of genocide – or anyone else Children react as Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli strike on a tent at a camp sheltering displaced people, in Gaza City on 7 July, 2026 (Ebrahim Hajjaj/Reuters) On On the surface, it certainly seemed a very big deal. Andy Burnham, Britain’s prime minister-in-waiting, had apologised for Gaza. "Labour’s initial response to the treatment of Gaza caused huge hurt.
We got it wrong and I am sorry for that," he posted on social media along with a three-minute video. The key word there, absent from some headlines, was "initial". And that word is important because we need to understand exactly what Burnham was saying sorry for if we are to have a sense of how his moral compass could intersect with a record of political expediency when it comes to diplomacy.
On 11 October 2023, Kier Starmer, now prime minister and then leader of the Labour Party opposition, sat down for what should have been a routine interview with LBC’s Nick Ferrari. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); What he said, though, was to become his defining moment for many on the left. Initially, Starmer dutifully trotted out the lines that all mainstream British politicians were repeating – lines taken from the mantras that Israel has pushed for years.
Firstly, Israel had the right to defend itself. Secondly, everything Israel was doing in Gaza was the fault of Hamas for carrying out the 7 October attack. But when asked by Ferrari if it was an appropriate response for Israel to lay siege to the Palestinian enclave and cut off its power and water supplies, Starmer replied: "I think Israel does have the right".
Extraordinarily, he had, in effect, endorsed war crimes. 'Real hurt' As fury grew, it took nine days for some mealy-mouthed context to be added, when a spokesperson said he had meant that Israel had a general right to defend itself. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); That appears to be what Burnham is primarily distancing himself from.
Andy Burnham has rightly spoken out on Labour's Gaza shame.
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