Britain’s likely next prime minister Andy Burnham said London must put more pressure on Israel over its actions in the Gaza war, in a newspaper interview published Thursday.

 Burnham told the Guardian that many people thought the government of outgoing leader Keir Starmer “didn’t get it right” in its response to Israel’s war on Hamas in Gaza following the terror group’s October 7 invasion and massacre in southern Israel.

“I am sorry about that. The response has too often not been good enough. We need to do better,” he told the newspaper.

The former mayor of Manchester, Burnham is tipped to succeed Starmer, who announced his resignation on June 22, under a nomination process that got under way on Thursday.

Burnham later posted a video of his remarks in the interview.

Since Starmer took office in July 2024, his Labour government has sanctioned Israeli ministers accused of fueling settler violence in the West Bank, suspended free-trade negotiations with Israel and formally recognized a State of Palestine. But supporters of the Palestinians say he has not gone far enough and a poll indicated some voters have abandoned Labour for the Green Party, whose leader has accused Israel of committing genocide.

Labour’s initial response to the treatment of Gaza caused huge hurt. We got it wrong and I am sorry for that. pic.twitter.com/MtQxhp71J3 — Andy Burnham (@andyburnham) July 9, 2026

Labour’s initial response to the treatment of Gaza caused huge hurt. We got it wrong and I am sorry for that. pic.twitter.com/MtQxhp71J3

— Andy Burnham (@andyburnham) July 9, 2026

“We’ve got........

© The Times of Israel