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Lib Dem foreign affairs spokesperson calls for Netanyahu arrest and tougher UK measures on Israel
Calum Miller also appeared at Lib Dem Friends of Israel event at the party's conference in Brighton
Liberal Democrats foreign affairs spokesperson Calum Miller has called for Andy Burnham to introduce a full ban on arms exports to Israel and to ensure that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would be arrested were he ever to set foot in the UK.
Speaking at the Liberal Democrats’ annual conference in Brighton, Miller praised party leader Ed Davey’s decision last year to suggest that the Israeli government’s actions in Gaza amounted to genocide.
Miller added; “Our party could not stay silent in the face of the destruction of Gaza, and this is now time for Andy Burnham to take forward what Keir Starmer never had the courage to do.
“He must introduce a full ban on arms exports to Israel, sanction Benjamin Netanyahu for his war crimes, and make clear that the ICC arrest warrant would be exercised should Netanyahu come to the United Kingdom.”
Miller’s speech, delivered just before Yom Kippur at a Liberal Democrat Friends of Israel fringe event, raised eyebrows among some attendees.
Earlier this year, Miller undertook a fact-finding visit to Israel and Ramallah from 15 to 19 February 2026, funded jointly by ELNET UK and the Liberal Democrat Friends of Israel.
During the trip, Miller met with various political figures, academics, and diplomats, including Israeli President Isaac Herzog.
On Sunday, in a wide-ranging discussion chaired by LDFI vice chair Toby Davis, Miller had underscored the Liberal Democrats’ commitment to the State of Israel and unequivocal support for the British Jewish community.
He also affirmed party support for a Palestinian state and the enforcement of international law.
Regarding the government’s ban on settlement goods, Miller acknowledged the decision might influence debate in Israel towards further settlement expansion, but emphasised the urgent need for the international community to apply pressure on the Israeli government.
Meanwhile, on Monday, Palestinian-British Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran told Sky News she “shed a tear” the day the UK sanctioned Israeli goods produced in the occupied West Bank.
“I don’t think people have fully appreciated how massive it was,” Moran said. Speaking to Cathy Newman, she added, “I shed a tear on the bench that day, and I’m not that sort of person generally, but actually the thing that really got me wasn’t even the sanctions – it was the admission from the UK government that the occupation is illegal.”
Moran emphasised that the UK’s statement about the occupation “really speaks to the core of what it means to be a liberal”—”standing up for international law.”
Other events at the conference included an annual Palestine reception hosted by the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP), Liberal Democrat Friends of Palestine (LDFP), and Islamic Relief.
Palestinian Ambassador Husam Zomlot described the government’s sanctions as “a significant moment in the British-Palestine relationship.” He added: “It was a turning point. At long last we shifted from condemnation to consequences, from words to action.”
Israeli Knesset member Aida Touma-Sliman, from the Hadash party, highlighted the difficulties faced by Arab and Palestinian members of the Knesset and said, “Crimes are not committed [by Israel] on a daily basis against Palestinians, but on a minute-by-minute basis.”
Labour’s annual conference begins in Liverpool on Sunday.
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