Durkan outraged at London and Dublin’s inertia on Gaza

Mr Durkan said: “As well as writing to the new Foreign Secretary, Philip Hammond, I have also written to the Prime Minister and the Taoiseach.

“In my letters to them I have expressed my outrage at their respective government’s failure to act in a more purposeful manner in addressing this issue.”

The SDLP MP said he expressed his disappointment at Ireland’s decision to abstain from the vote in the United Nations on an investigation into war crimes committed by Israel in Gaza.

He said: “As I noted in my letters to both the Taoiseach and the Prime Minister, there appears to be a huge contrast between what governments are doing and saying in terms of calling for sanctions against Russia and the rather inert response to the conflict in the Middle East.

He added: “In my letter to the Prime Minister, I have welcomed the efforts which the British government are making in terms of the much needed humanitarian aid. “However, I have also noted that this work cannot in any way obviate the concern and distress which I and so many others have expressed in terms of the onslaught that the people of Gaza are suffering.”