Nicola Coughlan, Laura Whitmore and more sign letter calling on Keir Starmer to 'end the UK’s complicity in the horrors in Gaza'

Nicola Coughlan, Laura Whitmore, Ruth Negga and Chris O'Dowd are among over 300 public figures who have signed an open letter calling on UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer to "end the UK’s complicity in the horrors in Gaza."

The letter, coordinated by the NGO Choose Love, also includes the signatures of other Irish artists including Annie Mac, Tadhg Hickey, Siobhán McSweeney and Joy Crookes.

The signatories, among them high-profile figures such as Benedict Cumberbatch, Riz Ahmed, Brian Cox and Gary Lineker, urge immediate UK government action.

"Children in Gaza are starving while food and medicine sit just minutes away, blocked at the border," the letter states. "Words won’t feed Palestinian children – we need action."

The letter outlines three demands: the suspension of all UK arms sales to Israel, unhindered humanitarian access for aid groups, and a commitment to securing a permanent ceasefire.

The call comes amid intensifying international concern over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The Israeli military operation in the enclave has caused more than 54,000 deaths among Palestinians, the majority being women and children.

A prolonged blockade on critical aid entering the area has caused widespread alarm among humanitarian experts. Sigrid Kaag, the interim UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, said yesterday that "the entire population of Gaza is facing the risk of famine."

"Each arms shipment makes our country directly complicit in their deaths," says the letter, "Every moment this continues, is another moment children die on our watch. This complicity is not inevitable – it is a choice. What do you choose, Prime Minister?"