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David Lammy was interrupted by five pro-Palestinian demonstrators while he was trying to give a speech on foreign policy on Saturday.
The shadow foreign secretary was around 10 minutes into his address at the Fabian Society conference when the first sign of dissent popped up.
Lammy quickly took himself backstage when he noticed a figure from the audience was climbing up on stage.
Holding up a Palestinian flag, the protester said to the audience: “David Lammy, you should be ashamed, we are 100 days into Israel’s indiscriminate campaign….”
Their voice faded as security pulled them away from the stage and the microphone.
But another protester quickly jumped up in their place and unfurled the same flag – they were rapidly escorted out, too.
Then a third figure started to shout from the sidelines, as security attempted to wrestle them out of the venue.
Lammy then returned to the stage, and told the audience change comes about through “power, not through protest”.
He added: “Let me pick up where I left off – crisis entered….”
Suddenly, another voice could be heard as a fourth protester stood up.
It’s not clear what they said, but the audience booed and Lammy laughed, telling the demonstrator as he was being escorted out: “Brother, change through power not protest!”
The shadow minister resumed his speech once again with a giggle, talking about “crisis” – only for a fifth figure to make themselves known in the crowd.
A hubbub followed, but this time Lammy tried to continue to his speech – but the demonstrator was already in full flow, and shouted: “Blood on your hands!”
Lammy just replied: “We all want a sustainable ceasefire.”
The Free Palestine Coalition later explained its activists had protested the event to “call out” Labour’s angle on Gaza.
The group said: “It is difficult to see how Lammy is upholding any commitment to human rights or international law as we enter into the 106th day of Israel’s unrelenting assault on Gaza.”
Lammy has previously said it is “right” that politicians avoid Palestinian rallies or protests, and suggested that only a truce would allow Hamas’ Israeli hostages to come out safely.
He also used his speech to slam Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent comments suggesting a two-state solution was not possible.
Lammy said these comments were “wrong”, adding: “The Israeli government must immediately change their approach. From the pain and despair, new will and a new political process must emerge to make two states a reality.”
Labour’s party leader Keir Starmer was also heavily criticised in October, when the war first broke out, for not immediately calling for a ceasefire.
The Palestinian militants, Hamas, killed 1,200 people in Israel on October 7 and took 240 others hostage.
Israel immediately declared war, imposed a siege on Gaza and soon began a ground offensive.
According to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza, an estimated 25,000 have been killed in the Palestinian territory since the war began.
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