Over 50 MPs backed the proposal last year, including all nine Scottish National Party MPs, several Labour backbenchers, and 22 human rights organisations [GETTY]
Independent MP Jeremy Corbyn has vowed to expose Britain’s complicity in Gaza and pursue accountability for Palestine after reintroducing a bill calling for an independent inquiry into the UK’s role in Israel’s war, telling The New Arab that “this issue is not going away”.
Shortly after the prime minister announced his resignation, Corbyn reintroduced legislation on Monday calling for an independent inquiry into Britain’s complicity in genocide.
The former Labour leader is once again seeking an investigation similar to the inquiry into Britain’s role in the Iraq war a year after the government blocked the proposal during its second reading.
“We will expose Britain’s complicity in the greatest crime of our time, but unlike Iraq, we must bring about real accountability,” Corbyn told The New Arab.
“This issue is not going away, and we will not rest until there is justice for the people of Palestine,” he added.
Corbyn said the effort was driven by a determination to avoid the delays that followed the Iraq war, when years passed before an inquiry was established and a report published detailing failures within the British government’s decision-making process.
“Just like Iraq, this government has been trying to cover up the truth. Just like Iraq, they will not succeed,” he said.
The bill was first introduced last year and attracted the backing of more than 50 MPs, including all nine Scottish National Party MPs, several Labour backbenchers and 22 human rights organisations.
If passed, the inquiry would examine Britain’s role in Israel’s war on Gaza and allegations of UK complicity in violations of international law.
Following its first reading, the bill would require a second reading before proceeding through committee and report stages in Parliament.
However, if the government does not allocate parliamentary time, the legislation could once again stall or lapse, as happened when it was blocked at second reading in July 2025.
The renewed push comes after Corbyn spent the past year building a wider campaign around the issue.
Following the defeat of the original bill, Corbyn, alongside Shahd Hammouri and Neve Gordon, convened a two-day Gaza Tribunal in September to investigate Britain’s complicity. The tribunal heard testimony from survivors, international legal experts, lawyers and whistleblowers.
Corbyn announced on Tuesday that an expanded version of the tribunal’s findings will be published in a new book titled The Gaza Tribunal: Britain’s Complicity in Genocide, featuring an afterword by author and Palestine advocate Sally Rooney.
“The Gaza Tribunal cements the government’s legacy as an active participant in one of the greatest crimes of our time,” Corbyn said in a statement.
“In the near future, our history books will shame those in our government who could have stopped the genocide in Gaza but facilitated it instead,” he added.
Corbyn has also sought to bring the tribunal’s findings before international legal bodies.
In March, he submitted the tribunal’s findings to the International Criminal Court and urged prosecutors to interview British government ministers regarding potential complicity in war crimes.
At the same time, Corbyn wrote to Andy Burnham, who won the governing party’s leadership contest on Friday and is expected to succeed the outgoing prime minister, asking whether he would support an independent inquiry into Britain’s role in the war.
