{"text":[[{"start":7.4,"text":"Andy Burnham has apologised for Labour’s initial response to Israel’s war in Gaza as Britain’s likely next prime minister tries to woo voters who have abandoned the party over the issue."}],[{"start":19.05,"text":"Burnham told the Guardian newspaper that he would seek to pressure the Israeli government through further sanctions on groups and individuals with a potential ban on trade in goods in illegal settlements. "}],[{"start":29.55,"text":"Outgoing prime minister Sir Keir Starmer has faced criticism over Gaza since the conflict erupted in October 2023, when Israel retaliated against brutal attacks by Palestinian militants that killed more than 1,200 people. Israel’s offensive has killed more than 73,000 people in Gaza, according to health officials in the territory."}],[{"start":51.8,"text":"Burnham said that many people felt that the UK government should put more pressure on the Israeli government, saying ministers had been too slow to call for a ceasefire. "}],[{"start":60.699999999999996,"text":"“I know many people feel that at the start of Israel’s military action in Gaza my party didn’t get it right and I am sorry about that,” he said. “The response has too often not been good enough. We need to do better.”"}],[{"start":73.44999999999999,"text":"The controversy around the party’s response began when Starmer was asked in an LBC interview in October 2023 whether Israel’s right to self-defence extended to cutting off power and water to Gaza. “I think that Israel does have that right,” he replied. "}],[{"start":89.1,"text":"He subsequently claimed he was answering a previous question and was not backing the cutting off of crucial supplies."}],[{"start":95.64999999999999,"text":"Starmer also initially called only for a “humanitarian pause” rather than a full ceasefire, a position shared by the US government at the time. "}],[{"start":104.1,"text":"In November 2023, 10 frontbenchers quit over Starmer’s reluctance to change his stance. In the 2024 general election won by Labour, the party lost five constituencies to pro-Palestinian independent candidates."}],[{"start":118.14999999999999,"text":"By September 2025 Starmer had recognised Palestinian statehood after a similar pledge by French President Emmanuel Macron and a letter from 130 Labour MPs calling for action.Burnham’s position marks a sharp change from his leadership campaign in 2015, when he vowed that his first overseas trip if elected would be to Israel."}],[{"start":139.75,"text":"Burnham said there was increasing evidence that war crimes appear to have been committed. But he stopped short of using the term genocide, saying: “It must be for the international courts to determine, rather than politicians.”"}],[{"start":151.9,"text":"Multiple Labour MPs have been saying for months that there should be a government clampdown on imports from the Israeli settlements. Several inner-city London boroughs switched to the Greens in the May local elections with Gaza a major issue on the doorsteps."}],[{"start":166.3,"text":"Green Party deputy leader Mothin Ali said: “If you asked Andy Burnham whether Russia has committed war crimes in Ukraine, he’d say yes. But when it comes to Gaza, he hides behind the international courts because admitting that the British government knows war crimes are being committed would trigger a legal duty to immediately halt arms sales.”Meanwhile David Miliband, seen by some Labour MPs as a possible foreign secretary in a Burnham government, gave a speech on Thursday in which he said that supporters of the “liberal democratic experiment” needed to reclaim it from those who wanted to destroy it — a comment that will be seen as a thinly veiled attack on US President Donald Trump."}],[{"start":204.25,"text":"Miliband, speaking at the London School of Economics, endorsed two of Burnham’s central political goals: devolution and electoral reform. Miliband currently lives in New York and runs the International Rescue Committee, a humanitarian body, but has told friends he would “jump at the chance” of returning as foreign secretary."}],[{"start":224.85,"text":"Such a move would suggest he would take a seat in the House of Lords, a constitutional move that would be opposed by many MPs. Lord David Cameron served briefly as foreign secretary from the upper chamber in Rishi Sunak’s Conservative government."}],[{"start":245.2,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1783654595_3368.mp3"}