Eleven Brent Labour Councillors have now signed the letter from more than 250 Muslim Labour councillors formally calling on the Labour leadership to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and an end to the humanitarian crisis. The signatories include Council leader Muhammed Butt's brother, the deputy mayor and a former whip of the Labour Group.
It was signed by:
Cllr Tariq Dar MBE – Brent Council
Cllr Sandra Kabir – Brent Council
Cllr Saqlain Choudry – Brent Council
Cllr Rita Begum – Brent Council
Cllr Saqib Butt, Vice Chair Planning Committee – Brent Council
Cllr Ishma Moeen – Brent Council
Cllr Parvez Ahmed (Chair Licensing Committee) - Brent Council
Cllr Ajmal Akram - Brent Council
Cllr Amer Agha - Brent Council
Cllr Iman Ahmadi Moghaddam - Brent Council
Cllr Harbi Farah (Cabinet Member for Safer Communities & Public Safety) - Brent Council
Dear Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner,
We the undersigned write to you as Muslim Labour Party councillors, formally calling on the Labour Party to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and an end to the humanitarian disaster.
5,791 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza since 7th October. Of those killed 2,360 of them have been children. It has also been reported that 704 Palestinians had been killed in the previous 24 hours alone. This is in addition to 1400 Israelis who lost their lives in the shocking terror attacks of October 7th.
Everyday we fail to call on the government and the international community to push for cessation of hostilities, Gazan children and hundreds of innocent men and women pay the price. As a party that bases its principles on fairness and justice, we can not sit idly by as Palestinian’s face collective punishment.
This week five UN agencies, including The World Food Programme (WFP) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have called for a humanitarian ceasefire as they described the conditions in Gaza as “catastrophic”. Leaders across all faiths, including the Archbishop of Canterbury, have also called for a ceasefire and polling shows the vast majority of Britons and Labour voters support this position (YouGov poll: 76% of the British public support a ceasefire).
The humanitarian aid that has passed through into Gaza through the Rafah crossing is a ‘drop in the ocean’ compared to the humanitarian crisis at large in the region. Without an immediate ceasefire, UN agencies, NGO’s and charities have made it clear that much needed aid will not reach pregnant women, children, critically ill patients and those others that will simply be left to die.
Gaza is home to 2.2 million people, over half of whom are children. Before this crisis began, over 80% of the population relied on aid, now this crisis has turned to catastrophe. The innocent civilians in Gaza have had nothing to do with this crisis and bear no responsibility to its outcome.
As Labour councillors elected to serve our constituents, the message we have been hearing repeatedly over the past 2 weeks is simple, people just want an end to the bloodshed and the loss of innocent life. No nation, no people or community should have to endure collective punishment and the same should be the case for the Palestinian people. We are also clear that hostages held captive must also be returned to their families safely.
Therefore, as Labour Party councillors, as members, and as members of the Muslim community we urge the Labour Party to urgently adopt a position of calling for an immediate ceasefire, calling on the UK government and the international community to act upon this proposal to save innocent human lives.
