MPs demand Middle East crisis parliament recall
Wednesday, 09 Aug 2006 13:23
The House of Commons is currently in its summer recess
A group of MPs including former ministers and party leaders has asked the leader of the House of Commons to immediately recall parliament so that the government's handling of continuing violence in the Middle East can be scrutinised.
The MPs' letter to Jack Straw says that 20 separate aid agencies have given their backing to the call, while supplementary correspondence to be sent next week is expected to include an "unprecedented" number of signatures demanding a parliamentary recall.
Tony Blair has faced widespread criticism for his failure to secure an immediate cessation of hostilities between Israel and Hizbullah militants in Lebanon with fellow international leaders, and today's letter claims there is "huge concern" on a nationwide level regarding the ongoing conflict.
The prime minister has consistently echoed comments made by the US president George Bush that creating an "enduring peace" for the Middle East remained the priority, although he recently delayed his holiday to help international efforts to demand an immediate ceasefire.
All the signatories, which includes former ministers Clare Short, Tony Lloyd and John Denham; as well as Sir Menzies Campbell, leader of the Liberal Democrats; and Alex Salmond and Elfyn Llywd, leaders of the Scottish National party and Plaid Cymru respectively, state that the failure to insist upon an immediate ceasefire has "cost many innocent lives and may continue to do so".
Today's letter also accuses the government of adopting a "tacitly active and less than impartial role in the conflict", owing to the US army's controversial use of Prestwick airport for transporting live armaments to Israel.
"Given the massive concern in the country about these matters, we believe that it is right to allow the Commons to meet in order that the government's strategy can be fully discussed," the MPs write.
They say that parliament itself is "seriously hamstrung" due to fact that only the government can instigate a recall of MPs.
Diplomats in the UN security council say they are close to agreeing on two separate resolutions that would explicitly call for an immediate ceasefire between Hizbullah and Israel.