Leaders of Burnley and Pendle councils call on Sir Keir Starmer to back ceasefire in Gaza or resign

And Coun. Afrasiab Anwar, leader of Burnley Council, and Coun. Asjad Mahmood, who is leader of Pendle Council are calling on Sir Keir Starmer to resign over his position on the conflict in the Middle East.

The dramatic move follows calls from senior Labour figures London mayor Sadiq Khan, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar and Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, who broke ranks to also challenge Sir Keir's stance.

Coun. Anwar said: "I, and colleagues across Burnley, over the last few weeks have seen the sad loss of people, including young children, in Palestine and Israel and this has to stop immediately.

"I joined the Labour Party because of the values of standing up and speaking out against injustices across the world. Sadly, Keir Starmer has not stood up for Labour values, hence why we are calling upon him to step down.

"Blindly following the position of Mr Sunak is not acceptable to us and our residents who we represent."

Coin. Mahmood added: “Sir Keir has failed to listen and we ask that he consider his position and resign to allow someone to lead our party who has compassion and speaks out against injustice and indiscrimate killing of innocent human beings.”