An Oldham councillor and cabinet member has spoken on LBC as he calls for the Prime Minister to halt arms sales to Israel.

Cllr Shaid Mushtaq, who is the cabinet member for Children and Young People and represents the Alexandra ward, spoke to LBC presenter Tom Swarbrick on Friday (October 18).

Cllr Mushtaq spoke on Swarbrick's show after he and hundreds of other Muslim Labour councillors around the country signed a letter calling on the Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, to immediately and completely suspend the sale of arms to Israel.

The letter says that due to the number of civilian deaths in Gaza, there is a "moral obligation to act now".

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During the interview, Swarbrick asked Cllr Mushtaq why he would call for Britain to stop selling items including body armour, blank or inert ammunition and military helmets.

Cllr Mushtaq responded by saying: "The key point here is the only way to resolve this is through diplomatic means.

"The UK, the US, all allies are trying to talk to Israel and clearly Israel has sent a clear message that it's not interested in anything its friends and allies has got to say so strong words have been used up to this point but it's clear that words are not enough where Israel is concerned."

Swarbrick then put to Cllr Mushtaq that if the campaign he was supporting was successful, it would mean Israel would have fewer defences to take out missiles and rockets, along with fewer helmets.

Cllr Mushtaq responded by saying: "As you know and I know Tom, the biggest contributor to Israel is the US.

"I think if the US was to implement a full arms embargo then some of the concerns that you're talking about may well come into play."

Six other Oldham councillors have signed the letter:

  • Nadeem Iqbal

  • Cllr Umar Nasheen

  • Cllr Mohammed Nazrul Islam

  • Cllr Junaid Hussain

  • Cllr Fida Hussain

  • Cllr Sajed Hussain