A keynote speech by David Lammy at a Labour-linked thinktank’s conference has been disrupted by protesters who held Palestinian flags as they shouted “ceasefire now”. As security officials at London’s Guildhall rushed to take the first two individuals out of the building, another three protesters began shouting and criticising Labour’s stance on the Israel-Gaza war as Lammy attempted to continue his speech at the Fabian Society event. Lammy had returned to the stage to huge applause after the first pair of protesters were led out of the venue, saying: “I was born in Tottenham, don’t worry,” before adding: “Friends let me be clear, we want a sustained ceasefire in Gaza.” One of the protesters shouted: “David Lammy, you should be ashamed of yourself,” referring to Labour’s shifting position on the war in the Middle East. “We really need a ceasefire, people are dying,” they said as they were led out of the venue. Lammy decided to address their chants of “ceasefire now” head on as more tried to derail his speech on Saturday, responding: “Change through power not through protest,” in a similar response to the words Keir Starmer used when he was glitter-bombed at party conference.
“My friend, we all want a sustainable ceasefire,” he said, as he was once again interrupted by chants. Addressing the crisis, the shadow foreign secretary said: “In Gaza, thousands of children have been killed. Over 85% of the population has been made refugees and more than 100 Israeli hostages are still held as prisoners, while rockets are still flying into Israel. The situation is intolerable. It’s unbearable. Which is why Labour has called for a sustainable ceasefire.”
He also criticised the Israeli prime minister’s rejection of a two-state solution, describing it as “morally wrong”. Lammy called on the Israeli state to swiftly change its “pain and despair” approach. “The peaceful quest for a Palestinian state is a just cause as Keir Starmer said, it is undeniably a rite of passage and the only way to guarantee just and lasting peace for both Israelis and Palestinians. The Israeli government must immediately change their approach from the pain of despair; new weapons and new political processes must emerge to make two states a reality.” Lammy said a Labour government would start urgent diplomatic talks on the creation of a new international contact group to take over from the defunct quartet – the UN, US, EU and Russia – to coordinate with western and Arab partners over Middle East peace. His speech came after that of the London mayor, Sadiq Khan, who urged voters not to “let the Tories do to London what they’ve done to our country”, as he hit out at their “hollow, desperate and divisive narrative”. Khan attacked the Conservatives for “exploiting people’s fears, but never addressing them”, in an attempt to lead the electorate to believe they were “struggling because of someone else”. The London mayoral elections in May would be be “the toughest fight yet”, Khan told the audience, because it will be the first time London has used the first-past-the-post system and the voter ID system will also be in force.