Rupa Huq MP 'vows' to continue pressuring the government on the Israel Gaza war even as Parliament dissolves tomorrow (30 May) with candidates fighting for the Ealing Central & Acton seat.

The Labour politician, standing for the fourth time in Ealing Central & Acton told Nub News: "I couldn't pass up the opportunity to approach Foreign Secretary Lord David Cameron to put various Gaza related questions to him - something MPs are usually not entitled to do as he is a Lord, but for me this is a priority."

In the final weeks of Parliament sitting, Huq and Billy Vaughan, Public Affairs Officer at Quakers in Britain, took the opportunity to lobby the Foreign Secretary, Lord David Cameron, to stop arms sales to Israel and against Israeli invasion into Rafah - a city in Gaza.

The event was attended by representatives from Human Rights Watch and the Campaign Against Arms Trade, alongside MPs and peers who were encouraged to use consistent cross-party messaging.

Lord Cameron was in Parliament that week appearing before the Lords International Relations and Defence Committee.

Huq says: "Over the past seven months that this war has raged I've questioned Rishi Sunak in public in Parliament as well as the Foreign Secretary on the Rafah invasion along with Billy Vaughan of the Quakers.

"I asked what we were doing to stop the imminent full scale Rafah incursion and why we could not question him which I believe to be a huge democratic deficit.

"In his usual smooth manner, he brushed Billy and me off informing us that he had just spent several hours before the House of Lords committee and that he had appeared at the Liaison Committee of MPs.

"However none of these are open to backbench MPs like me.

Huq adds: "I will continue to relentlessly press the government on Rafah, against UK arms sales to Israel, for the resettlement of Gaza refugees, a massive injection of aid including restoration of funding to UNWRA and importantly the immediate ceasefire so badly needed."

Speaking on behalf of Quakers of Britain, Billy Vaughan comments: "It was good to get the opportunity to join Rupa Huq in holding the Foreign Secretary to account for his refusal to halt arms export licences to Israel.

"Quakers in Britain have joined other faith groups in calling for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and an end to foreign military support for Israel.

"The global arms trade allows a small minority to profit from the killing and suffering of others, and nowhere is this more apparent right now than in Gaza.

"The UK has licensed £442 million worth of arms to Israel since 2015, and CAAT has even said that the real figure is significantly higher than this.

"Many of these arms are now being used to kill and maim civilians in Gaza.

"UN experts have described what is happening in Gaza as a genocide, and yet the government still refuses to publish its legal advice on whether Israel is committing war crimes.

"David Cameron has said that he is 'not really interested in message sending' but we will continue to send a message on behalf of the majority of the public who want weapons sales to Israel to end completely."

Foreign Secretary David Cameron meets with Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu in April 2024 (credit: Ben Dance/FCDO).

Two weeks ago, The former prime minister spoke to Sky News' Trevor Phillips and told him that he was against an invasion into Rafah and "the right answer is to try and stop the fighting by having a hostage deal, achieving a pause in the fighting and then using that to build a sustainable ceasefire without going back to further conflict."

"But the problem is it goes back to Hamas. Hamas have been offered a deal which would release hundred of prisoners from Israeli jail, that would provide a pause in the fighting to get desperately needed aid into Gaza and they are not taking that deal so the question really is for Hamas - why are you allowing the suffering to go on when you could stop it now," he added.

On the issue of the UK stoping arm deals to Israel and whether it is legal, Lord Cameron said: "We have a rolling process which is very thorough, very detailed, it is under the Export Control Act and we have to give that consideration asking the crucial question is there a clear risk that something that could be exported could lead to a serious violation of humanitarian law.

"That process is ongoing, we have made two, as it were, adjudications so far and the process is ongoing."

Lord Cameron continued: "The UK provides less than one per cent of Israel's weapons and it is not a state supplier, we have a licensing system and those licenses can be closed if it is judged a serious risk."

Huq Continues: "I am pleased that since this awful cycle of violence started began with the Hamas attacks of October 7th Labour does now support a ceasefire in Gaza and though I'm depressed and dismayed at the Rafah incursions it is right that Keir Starmer has unequivocally said if he were PM he would tell Netanyahu to stop."

Rupa Huq from the Labour Party will be running against six other candidates for the Ealing Central & Acton Parliament seat on 4 July 2024, after Rishi Sunak announced a general election last week.

We want to provide Ealing with more and more clickbait-free local news. To do that, we need a loyal newsletter following. Help us survive and sign up for our free weekly newsletter by clicking the link HERE.