Save the Children clashes with Labour after accusing Starmer of ‘complicity’ in Gaza deaths

The charity said ‘Keir Starmer witnessed 73,000 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces’. Photograph: Mohammed Saber/EPA View image in fullscreen The charity said ‘Keir Starmer witnessed 73,000 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces’. Photograph: Mohammed Saber/EPA Save the Children clashes with Labour after accusing Starmer of ‘complicity’ in Gaza deaths Government – which provides significant portion of charity’s funding – is understood to have demanded an explanation The charity Save the Children has angered the government with a social media post marking Keir Starmer’s impending exit from Downing Street. The organisation suggested on X that the outgoing prime minister was complicit in the deaths of thousands of civilians in the Israel-Gaza war . On Tuesday, it posted a mocked up picture of a commemorative blue plaque, which read: “History will not forget complicity. Keir Starmer witnessed 73,000 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces, including 21,000 children, and kept supplying arms to Israel .” Starmer’s government placed some restrictions on arms sales to Israel in 2024, but stopped short of a complete suspension. Save the Children’s X post had been viewed more than 300,000 times by Wednesday afternoon. Gaza’s health ministry said this week that more than 73,000 Palestinians have died since the beginning of the conflict on 7 October 2023, after Hamas attacked Israel. The death toll included 1,000 people who had been killed since the start of a ceasefire in October last year, according to the ministry. Officials from the Foreign Office are understood to have contacted Save the Children soon after the post went live to demand an explanation. Tensions have apparently been heightened by the fact the government provides a significant proportion of the charity’s funding. The Guardian understands it has received about £114m since the beginning of 2024. A government source suggested on Wednesday that the post could increase anxiety among MPs already worried about their security as a result of Ann Widdecombe’s death last week. Counter-terror police said the former Conservative MP, who later joined Reform UK, had been killed in a “targeted attack” and are examining a possible political motive. “This is deeply irresponsible rhetoric from Save the Children at a time when MPs are already fearful for their safety,” the source said. “This to a prime minister who has recognised the state of Palestine and put so much pressure on other countries to come with us supporting Gaza, making sure we ringfence cash for Palestinians. It’s beyond the pale.” “Divisive hyperbole and misinformation like this are completely unfitting for a children’s charity,” a minister added. “This kind of language makes the concept of complicity utterly meaningless, which does no favours to the many children at risk of atrocities around the world.” Save the Children is part of a coalition of 17 humanitarian organisations who issued a joint statement on Wednesday calling on the incoming p