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Humanitarian organisation Choose Love, in collaboration with Bridgerton actor Nicola Coughlan, photographer Misan Harriman, and singer Paloma Faith, has publicly called out UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer for a lack of decisive action against Israel’s assault on Gaza.

The criticism came via a joint statement posted on Choose Love’s Instagram, responding to Starmer’s July 10 letter addressing an open appeal made in May by over 400 artists, writers and public figures — including Dua Lipa, Benedict Cumberbatch, Malala Yousafzai, and Gary Lineker — urging an end to UK arms sales to Israel.

While the new statement isn’t a second open letter co-signed by all 400 original signatories, it is a response crafted by Choose Love and several of its most vocal supporters. Among them is Coughlan, who has remained actively engaged in the campaign. And with Malala, one of the original signatories, among those who liked the post, it stands to reason that the response may reflect the sentiments of many who first lent their names to the letter.

“He said he had ‘made it clear’ that the level of suffering was intolerable,” the post reads, referencing Starmer’s reply, “and yet he has still not halted all sales and licences to Israel.”

The group goes on to challenge the Prime Minister’s claim that the UK is not arming Israel’s war on Gaza, pointing to the continued use of UK-made components in F-35 fighter jets, as well as ongoing military cooperation and training between the two countries.

‘What will you say in the years to come?’

In the detailed reply shared on Instagram, Choose Love expressed disappointment in the gap between the UK’s rhetoric and its policy decisions. “In years to come, when you are asked whether you have done enough, what will you say?” the letter asks Starmer, appealing to his background as a human rights lawyer.

It also questions the logic of delaying recognition of the State of Palestine until Israel demonstrates progress: “Palestinians have an inalienable right to statehood — that right should not be used as leverage. Children who could be saved today will not survive more weeks of starvation.”

The response mentions that over 57,000 Palestinians have been killed since October 7, 2023, children are dying of hunger, and over 300 UK export licences to Israel are still active, and asks what “decisive measures” the UK government is willing to take, and when.

“This is not neutrality. It is complicity,” it reads. “International law is clear: where there is a serious risk that arms or military cooperation could contribute to war crimes or genocide, such support must stop.”

Growing pressure

This latest statement builds on a wave of public pressure that began in May when hundreds of figures from across British cultural and public life urged Starmer to act. While his official response acknowledged the scale of suffering in Gaza and reiterated the UK’s support for a ceasefire, his critics argue that the policy changes he outlined have not matched the urgency of the crisis.

“Air-drops are dangerous, inadequate, and no substitute for a full-scale, dignified humanitarian response,” the Choose Love letter says, demanding a total halt to arms exports and all forms of military cooperation.

The tone is one of moral urgency, signalling that the coalition behind the May letter isn’t going quiet. And with high-profile voices like Coughlan’s still speaking out, and support from figures like Malala continuing on public platforms, pressure on Starmer’s government is likely to grow.