Parliament passes bill for inquiry on UK role in Gaza war

Parliament has passed a bill calling for an independent inquiry into the UK’s role in Israel’s war on Gaza, Middle East Eye reported on June 5th. This marks a key step in efforts to scrutinise British support for the military campaign.

The Gaza (Independent Public Inquiry) Bill, introduced by former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, passed without division on June 4th. It proposes a Chilcot-style investigation into any UK military, economic or political cooperation with Israel since October 2023—including arms sales, the use of RAF bases, and intelligence sharing.

“We have passed a major hurdle in establishing an independent inquiry into the UK’s involvement in Gaza,” Corbyn said. “I will now be writing to the prime minister to ask for assurance that the government will not stand in the way,” he added.

The bill would grant the inquiry powers to question ministers and officials about decisions taken since the start of the war. “The government must decide: will it support an inquiry that has backing from MPs across the political spectrum, or will it block our efforts to expose the truth?” Corbyn said.

Ex-shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, said: “All we are asking for is the truth to be told about the genocide taking place in Gaza—not just to expose the horrendous brutality of Israel’s actions, but to enable those accountable for this war crime to be held to account.”

Previously, Israeli import data suggested that UK arms have proceeded to be delivered to Israel even after the UK government’s suspension of 30 arms export licenses during September 2024, according to Middle East Eye on May 6th.

The UK Foreign Office declared the partial suspension of arms due to worries that they may be used “to commit or facilitate serious violations of international humanitarian law.”

Middle East Eye