Sir Keir Starmer has called for a “ceasefire that lasts” in Gaza, as he used a speech in Scotland to warn that the fighting in the Middle East must “stop now”.
In Glasgow for Scottish Labour’s conference, the party leader has come under fresh pressure over his stance on the crisis after members north of the border backed immediate calls for a ceasefire.
It comes just days before an SNP-led vote on an immediate cessation of fighting this week, which Labour has so far failed to rule out backing amid fears the Commons motion could reopen deep divides among MPs.
Sir Keir won sustained applause as he called for a “ceasefire that lasts”, notably avoiding using the carefully-chosen term “sustainable ceasefire” in his address to Scottish members.
The Labour leader, fresh from an appearance at a gathering of top politicians in Germany, said every conversation there had focused on the crisis in the Middle East.
“I have just returned from the Munich Security Conference where every conversation I had came back to the situation in Israel and Gaza and the question of what we can do practically to deliver what we all want to see – a return of all the hostages taken on October 7th, an end to the killing of innocent Palestinians, a huge scaling up of humanitarian relief and an end to the fighting.
“Not just for now, not just for a pause, but permanently. A ceasefire that lasts. That is what must happen now. The fighting must stop now.”
