Visiting the occupied West Bank & Gaza last week, Medical Aid for Palestinians Vice Chair, Shireen Jayyusi and I were at Rafidia hospital in Nablus on Thursday. We arrived just hours after an Israeli military raid on the town in which soldiers had surrounded the hospital overnight. We heard testimony from doctors that tear gas canisters had been thrown through hospital windows by Israeli …
It’s 20 years since the invasion of Iraq in March 2003. I was one of 139 Labour MPs who opposed the invasion in the key vote which took place in the House of Commons. Six months earlier, I had written directly to Tony Blair expressing my concerns about the course he was taking. The letter is here:
Sir Keir was right to signal once again that there is no place whatsoever for antisemitism. But I was disappointed by other statements in his address to Labour Friends of Israel. Originally published by the Independent, November 18, 2021 In his speech to the annual lunch of Labour Friends of Israel (LFI) this week, Keir Starmer said “true friends will always be frank.” He is right about that. So …
I was on a driving holiday in north Italy and southern France. On 9/11 we were caught up for hours in what seemed like an endless traffic jam outside Nice. Having finally given up on that day’s journey, we checked into a small hotel in Sanary-sur-Mer. Turning on the TV, shocked doesn’t begin to describe our reaction to seeing CNN footage of the plane hitting the South Tower under headline …
Personal thoughts on the unfolding tragedy A modest donation to an NGO delivering emergency aid on the ground. A series of tweets expressing shame and anger; even writing this piece itself. They all feel so futile in response to the horror that is taking place in Afghanistan. But they are all I have got right now. For me it also feels personal. A friend of mine who was an international aid worker …
The Prime Minister’s bid to call a snap General Election just before Christmas will not sort out Brexit as he claims and the way he is going about it is bad for democracy. Why do I say that? Last week Boris Johnson’s Government won a vote in Parliament to give his Withdrawal Agreement Bill a Second Reading. In other words it was a vote to agree the Bill in principle to allow it to continue its …
I was Labour Member of Parliament for Birmingham Northfield between 1992 and 2019 and a former Shadow Transport Minister. I now chair Healthwatch in Birmingham and Solihull, and the West Midlands Board of Remembering Srebrenica. I also work as a public affairs consultant. I am an effective community advocate and stakeholder alliance builder with a passion for human rights. I am a trustee of the Balfour Project charity and of Citizens Advice Birmingham, and a former Chair of Medical Aid for Palestinians.