LONDON

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Wednesday said he is “appalled” by reports of more civilians being killed in Gaza while trying to access aid, calling for full and transparent investigations into each incident, and for accountability where there has been failure.

Speaking during Prime Minister’s Questions, the prime minister said: “I’m appalled by reports of more civilians being killed in Gaza, particularly when they are trying to access aid. And each of those incidents does need to be fully and transparently investigated with accountability for any failure.

"That, of course, has to be alongside the ceasefire that is desperately needed, and we are working hard with others to achieve — to release all of the hostages that remain, ... protect civilians and get much more aid at speed and volume into Gaza. Israel must clearly put in place measures that protect civilians in line with international law," he added.

His comments come amid mounting pressure on the UK government to take a firmer stance on Israel’s conduct in Gaza.

Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey went further, calling for sanctions against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, accusing him of overseeing “ethnic cleansing” in the territory.

Secret scheme to resettle Afghan nationals

The premier also criticized former Conservative ministers over a secret scheme to resettle Afghan nationals, after details emerged following the lifting of a super-injunction that had blocked discussion on the program.

“There has always been support across this house for the UK fulfilling our obligations to Afghans who served alongside British forces,” Starmer said.

“We warned in opposition about Conservative management of this policy, and yesterday, the defense secretary set out the full extent of the failings that we inherited: a major data breach, a super-injunction, a secret route that has already cost hundreds of millions of pounds.”

He added: “Ministers who served under the party have serious questions to answer about how this was ever allowed to happen. The chair of the defense committee has indicated that he intends to hold further inquiries. I welcome that and hope that those who were in office at the time will welcome that scrutiny.”

The story came to light after a high court judge ruled that the super-injunction had prevented discussion about significant government spending, which is usually subject to political debate.

The ARR (Afghanistan Response Route) was established after personal information about 18,700 Afghans who had applied to come to the UK was leaked in early 2022 by a British defense official.

Ministers and officials only became aware of the breach in August 2023, after the information was posted in a Facebook group.

The Ministry of Defense then sought a high court injunction to stop further media disclosure.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch did not address the Afghan scheme during PMQs and instead focused on economic questions.