Rochdale’s Labour Parliamentary Candidate, Simon Danczuk, has warned the UK Minister for the Middle East that the Gaza conflict is creating a huge sense of grievance and injustice in Muslim communities and that Britain must step up the diplomatic pressure on Israel to achieve a ceasefire.

Mr Danczuk said the acute sense of anger and despair felt in Rochdale at the ongoing conflict, which has seen over 1,000 Palestinians killed so far by the Israeli military, left him with no choice but to go to London and seek an audience with the UK Minister for the Middle East, Bill Rammell MP.

“I told the Minister that unless the British Government is seen to be doing more in terms of putting pressure on the Israelis to withdraw troops from Gaza then this could do great damage to race relations in communities like Rochdale,” he said. “The sense of anger on the streets is palpable. People feel helpless and extremely upset at the massacres taking place.”

He added that he was extremely disappointed that the Liberal Democrats were fuelling this anger by constantly claiming the Government had remained silent on this issue and had not called for a ceasefire when they had done repeatedly. “This is not the case and they know this. I would urge all politicians in Rochdale to stick to the facts and act sensibly.”

Mr Danczuk said the dialogue between himself and Mr Rammell had been constructive and he had been assured that the Government was doing everything possible to bring about a ceasefire. “I made sure that the Minister understood in no uncertain terms just how angry Rochdale’s Muslim community is,” he said. “The Minister explained that there was a huge difference in how the Government had responded to this crisis compared to its response to Israel’s bombing of Lebanon in 2006. He explained that the Foreign Secretary, David Miliband, had led on a UN resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire and was calling for all war crimes to be investigated. Intense diplomatic talks were continually taking place and Britain was determined to try and achieve a breakthrough.”

Earlier today, the Foreign Secretary condemned George Bush’s ‘war on terror’ as “a mistake”, adding that it was “misleading” to think the West could “kill its way” out of the threats it faces.

Mr Danczuk’s visit comes as Rochdale’s Labour Councillor, Ibrar Khan, is due to take part in an emergency meeting today to assess the impact of the Gaza conflict on Britain’s Muslim communities. Councillor Khan was one of 80 people invited to the meeting and will be asked to share his views with the Home Secretary.

Concluding, Mr Danczuk, said he was worried that the violence in Gaza would create a new wave of angry, disenfranchised voices in Rochdale. “I am determined to make sure that people’s views in Rochdale go straight to the heart of Government,” he said. “The conflict in Gaza will not be easy to resolve but I want people to understand what politicians are doing to try and bring peace in the Middle East. Equally I want Ministers to understand just how angry and let down people feel.”