Sarah Champion: Government should have acted two years ago

Rotherham MP Sarah Champion is holding the Government to account over its response to Israeli settlements and the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

The International Development Committee chair has welcomed a Government move to restrict trade in goods from Israeli settlements – but stresses that the action is “long overdue” and should have come two years ago.

Champion has made the issue a defining part of her parliamentary work, repeatedly pressing ministers over settlements, humanitarian access and the plight of Palestinians.

The Labour politician said: "I strongly welcome the Foreign Secretary’s statement in the House and I applaud the ban on goods from illegal Israeli settlements. This is action that my Committee has long called for and is undeniably the right thing to do.

"It is bittersweet though, as I have to reflect on the lives and livelihoods that could have been protected if we had acted two years ago.

"We should be clear that this is long overdue; and I am concerned that the measures announced may not have an immediate impact. With settlements continuing to expand and the humanitarian situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory rapidly deteriorating, there remains an immediate need for action.

"The Foreign Secretary must continue to press the Israeli Government to allow journalists and parliamentarians into Gaza. The continued denial of access to independent observers is unacceptable, particularly when the scale of the humanitarian crisis and potential war crimes makes scrutiny more important than ever."

She pressed the Government to "do more to support the Palestinian Authority to ensure it can provide effective government and services to the Palestinian people."

The committee is a cross-party group of MPs which scrutinises the Government’s international development policies and spending, examining how effectively British aid and development programmes are being delivered around the world.

Champion, 57, has chaired the it since 2020 and was re-elected following the 2024 general election.

She was first elected as Rotherham’s MP in a 2012 by-election and has represented the town ever since. Before entering Parliament, she was chief executive of Bluebell Wood Children’s Hospice in Rotherham.

Trying to protect vulnerable people has been a theme throughout her career.

She has campaigned extensively on child protection and sexual exploitation, particularly following the grooming scandal in Rotherham, while her international role has put her at the centre of parliamentary scrutiny of the war in Gaza and the wider Israeli-Palestinian conflict.