Pop star Dua Lipa and around 300 public figures have signed an open letter calling on the UK government to immediately stop arms sales to Israel. The letter urges Prime Minister Keir Starmer to end what the signatories call the UK’s “complicity in the horrors in Gaza.”
The signatories include actors Benedict Cumberbatch, Tilda Swinton, and Riz Ahmed, as well as musicians Paloma Faith, Annie Lennox, and the band Massive Attack. Sports broadcaster Gary Lineker also added his name to the letter, which was organised by UK-based charity Choose Love.
“You can’t call it ‘intolerable’ and keep sending arms,” the letter reads. It further demands an immediate ceasefire, unrestricted humanitarian access in Gaza, and a full suspension of arms exports to Israel. The group warned that failing to act now would make the UK complicit in war crimes.
Dua Lipa, a vocal critic of the war, previously described Israel’s offensive as “genocide.” Israel has rejected such claims, stating its military campaign is aimed at defeating Hamas following the October 2023 attacks that left over 1,200 people dead and hundreds taken hostage.
Meanwhile, over 800 UK lawyers and more than 380 writers from Britain and Ireland have also issued open letters this week accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza. The legal community included senior judges and former justices from the UK Supreme Court.
The war has killed over 54,000 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to the territory’s health ministry. As global outrage grows, pressure mounts on the UK government to turn its words into action and re-evaluate its role in the ongoing conflict.