Dame Judi Dench, Malala and Stanley Tucci are among another 100 famous names who have added their signatures to a letter urging Sir Keir Starmer to “end the UK’s complicity” in Gaza.
Sky News can exclusively reveal the Bond actress, Nobel Peace Prize winner and Conclave actor are among a host of public figures who have added their names to the letter.
Dua Lipa, Benedict Cumberbatch and Gary Lineker were among the celebrities to also urge the PM to use all available means to ensure full humanitarian access and broker an immediate and permanent ceasefire.
Celebrities and activists also read out all the names of children killed in Gaza in front of parliament.
But three weeks later, they say nothing has changed.
Image: Dua Lipa, Gary Lineker and Benedict Cumberbatch signed the letter in May. Pics: PA
Other new signatories include actors Florence Pugh and Russell Tovey, Dr Who star Ncuti Gatwa, singer Paolo Nutini, author Michael Rosen, musician Paul Weller, Little Mix members Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Jade Thirlwall, broadcaster Fearne Cotton, Game of Thrones actress Carice van Houten, Harry Potter actress Bonnie Wright and ex-England rugby captain Chris Robshaw.
The letter urges Sir Keir to “take immediate action to end the UK’s complicity in the horrors of Gaza”, and says children are starving “while food and medicine sit just minutes away”, in reference to Israel blocking aid into the territory.
It says 71,000 children under four are “acutely malnourished” and those who survive starvation “wake up to bombs falling on them”, with more than 15,000 children killed in the conflict so far.
Image: Ncuti Gatwa, who plays Dr Who, has signed the letter. Pic: Reuters
Image: Actress Florence Pugh has also signed the letter. Pic: Reuters
Image: Actor Russell Tovey is a signatory too. Pic: Reuters
“Violence stamped with UK inaction – flown with parts shipped from British factories to Israel – could be obliterating families in seconds,” the letter adds.
“You can’t call it ‘intolerable’, yet do nothing.
“Every moment this continues, is another moment children die on our watch.
“History is written in moments of moral clarity. This is one. The world is watching and history will not forget. The children of Gaza cannot wait another minute.
“Prime minister, what will you choose? Complicity in war crimes, or the courage to act?”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
1:40
Steve Coogan: It has to stop
What has Starmer said and done about Gaza?
In September, the UK suspended about 30 arms export licences to Israel, but government export licensing figures from May show the UK approved licences for £127.6m worth of military equipment from October to December 2024 – more than the total between 2020 and 2023.
Since the first letter was sent, Sir Keir has called Israel’s actions in Gaza – both the blockade of aid and strikes – “appalling and intolerable”.
Some of his own MPs are pressuring him to take further action against Israel and call the 20-month war – which started when Hamas killed 1,195 people in Israel and took 250 hostage – a genocide, but he has not used those words.
On 10 June, the UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Norway sanctioned far-right Israeli ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich over “repeated incitements of violence against Palestinian civilians”.
They are banned from entering the UK and are now subject to a freeze on UK assets and director disqualifications.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
0:54
Gaza crisis ‘acute’ and continuing
Last week, Sir Keir said more RAF jets, including Typhoons and air-to-air refuelers, were being sent to the Middle East after Israel and Iran attacked each other.
On Tuesday, Sir Keir told Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby he is “worried about the impact” escalation between the two countries will have on Gaza.
Josie Naughton, co-founder and CEO of Choose Love, said: “Since we urged the government to end its complicity in the horrors of Gaza, more people have added their voice to our call. We cannot be silent while children are being killed and families are being starved.
“It took us 18 hours to read the 15,613 names of children known to be killed in Gaza. Every single one of them was someone’s whole universe. Every one of them deserved better.
“The situation is changing by the second, but until the UK government has halted all arms sales and licences to Israel, ensured that humanitarian aid can reach people starving inside Gaza and stopped the killing, they will not have done enough.
“History will remember how we acted in this moment. We beg Keir Starmer to end the UK’s complicity in these horrors.”
Follow The World
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
A government spokesperson said:“We strongly oppose the expansion of military operations in Gaza and call on the Israeli government to cease its offensive and immediately allow for unfettered access to humanitarian aid.
“The denial of essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population in Gaza is unacceptable and risks breaching international humanitarian law.”
The spokesperson added: “Last year, we suspended export licences to Israel for items used in military operations in Gaza and continue to refuse licences for military goods that could be used by Israel in the current conflict.
“We urge all parties to urgently agree a ceasefire agreement and work towards a permanent and sustainable peace.”
The Salt Path author Raynor Winn’s fourth book has been delayed by her publisher.
It comes amid claims that the author lied about her story in her hit first book. Winn previously described the claims as “highly misleading” and called suggestions that her husband had Moth made up his illness “utterly vile”.
In a statement, Penguin Michael Joseph, said it had delayed the publication of Winn’s latest book On Winter Hill – which had been set for release 23 October.
The publisher said the decision had been made in light of “recent events, in particular intrusive conjecture around Moth’s health”, which it said had caused “considerable distress” to the author and her family.
“It is our priority to support the author at this time,” the publisher said.
“With this in mind, Penguin Michael Joseph, together with the author, has made the decision to delay the publication of On Winter Hill from this October.”
A new release date will be announced in due course, the publisher added.
Spotify
This content is provided by Spotify, which may be using cookies and other technologies.
To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies.
You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable Spotify cookies or to allow those cookies just once.
You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options.
Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to Spotify cookies.
To view this content you can use the button below to allow Spotify cookies for this session only.
Winn’s first book, released in 2018, detailed the journey she and husband took along the South West Coast Path – familiarly known as The Salt Path – after they lost their family farm and Moth received a terminal health diagnosis of Corticobasal Degeneration (CBD).
But a report in The Observer disputed key aspects of the 2018 “true” story – which was recently turned into a film starring Jason Isaacs and Gillian Anderson.
Image: Raynor and husband Moth (centre) with actors Jason Isaacs (L) and Gillian Anderson (R). Pic: Steve Tanner/Black Bear
Experts ‘sceptical of health claims’
As part of the article, published last weekend, The Observer claimed to have spoken to experts who were “sceptical” about elements of Moth’s terminal diagnosis, such as a “lack of acute symptoms and his apparent ability to reverse them”.
In the ensuing controversy, PSPA, a charity that supports people with CBD, cut ties with the couple.
The Observer article also claimed the portrayal of a failed investment in a friend’s business wasn’t true, but said the couple – whose names are Sally and Tim Walker – lost their home after Raynor Winn embezzled money from her employer and had to borrow to pay it back and avoid police action.
Image: Anderson played Winn in a movie about the couple’s journey. Pic: Steve Tanner/Black Bear
It also said that, rather than being homeless, the couple had owned a house in France since 2007.
Winn’s statement said the dispute with her employer wasn’t the reason the couple lost their home – but admitted she may have made “mistakes” while in the job.
“For me it was a pressured time,” she wrote. “It was also a time when mistakes were being made in the business. Any mistakes I made during the years in that office, I deeply regret, and I am truly sorry.”
She admitted being questioned by police but said she wasn’t charged.
The author also said accusations that Moth lied about having CBD/CBS were false and had “emotionally devastated” him.
“I have charted Moth’s condition with such a level of honesty, that this is the most unbearable of the allegations,” Winn wrote on her website.
Heaton Park, just north of Manchester City centre, is tonight hosting 80,000 fans who’ve come to see the Gallaghers’ homecoming.
“I would honestly say it’s a real cultural moment of the 21st century,” says Sam, who’s from Manchester and has come here with a group of friends – including one who has travelled from Australia for the gig.
Image: Oasis fans wear band T-shirts with the almost obligatory bucket hats. Pic: Reuters
This will be the fourth time Sam has seen Oasis play, although obviously not for many years, and he says he can’t wait for the moment the band comes on to the stage.
“The reaction from the fans, that’s going to be really special,” he says. “This band means so much to the North West.”
Like many people attending tonight’s concert, Sam is wearing a bucket hat.
Liam Gallagher’s iconic headgear has become a part of the band’s cultural legacy and they are certainly on display here, with street vendors popping up all around the park’s perimeter.
More from Ents & Arts
Another fan, Dean, tells me he feels incredibly lucky to have got a ticket at all.
“I had seven devices out when the tickets were released and I didn’t get one,” he says. “And then about three days ago, a friend of mine messaged to say she couldn’t make it.
“So I made it. £120 with coach travel there and back – perfect.”
Image: Dom has flown from half a world away to be in Manchester tonight
Dom is another fan who has come from Australia for the gig.
“We’re frothing to be here, like so stoked,” he says, “The atmosphere is going to be electric.”
R&B singer Chris Brown has denied further charges following an alleged bottle attack in a London nightclub.
The 36-year-old pleaded not guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH) to music producer Abraham Diaw, during a hearing at Southwark Crown Court on Friday.
Brown also denied one count of having an offensive weapon – a bottle – in a public place.
Image: Chris Brown arriving at Southwark Crown Court on Friday. Pic: PA
The Grammy-winning US musician last month pleaded not guilty to a more serious charge of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm (GBH) with intent to Mr Diaw.
The attack allegedly happened at the Tape venue, a private members’ club in Hanover Square, Mayfair, on 19 February 2023.
The plea hearing is part of preparations for his five to seven-day trial, which is due to take place from 26 October 2026.
Brown’s co-defendant, US national Omololu Akinlolu, 39, on Friday pleaded not guilty to a charge of assaulting Mr Diaw occasioning him actual bodily harm.
More on Chris Brown
Related Topics:
Akinlolu, a rapper who goes by the name Hoody Baby, has previously pleaded not guilty to attempting to cause grievous bodily harm.
Image: Brown’s co-defendant Omololu Akinlolu arrives at court. Pic: Reuters
The defendants sat side-by-side in the dock, looking straight ahead during the hearing in London.
Around 20 fans sat in the public gallery behind the dock for Friday’s hearing, with several gasping as Brown walked into the courtroom.
The Go Crazy singer was able to continue with his scheduled international tour after he was freed on conditional bail in May.
He had to pay a £5m security fee to the court as part of the bail agreement, which is a financial guarantee to ensure a defendant returns to court and may be forfeited if they breach bail conditions.
Mr Diaw was standing at the bar of the Tape nightclub when he was struck several times with a bottle, and then pursued to a separate area of the venue where he was punched and kicked repeatedly, Manchester Magistrates’ Court previously heard.
Brown was arrested at Manchester’s Lowry Hotel at 2am on 15 May by detectives from the Metropolitan Police.
He is said to have flown into Manchester Airport on a private jet in preparation for the UK tour dates.
Brown was released from HMP Forest Bank in Salford, Greater Manchester, on 21 May.
The singer, who rose to stardom as a teenager in 2005, won his first Grammy award for best R&B album in 2011 for F.A.M.E..
He earned his second in the same category for 11:11 (Deluxe) earlier this year.