SCOTTISH screenwriter Paul Laverty read out the names of the 22 members of the UK Government Cabinet “guilty of collusion with genocide” before he was arrested this morning.
Protesters gathered on Monday at St Leonard’s police station in Edinburgh to support Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign (SPSC) member Moira McFarlane, who was to be charged under section 13 of the Terrorist Act for wearing an illegal T-shirt condemning Israel’s genocide of the Palestinian people, with the words "Genocide in Palestine, time to take action".
The charge follows a visit to her home in the middle of the night by plainclothes police officers.
Before McFarlane entered the station, award-winning screenwriter and activist Laverty asked activists to imagine if the British cabinet was called this evening to halt all arms sales and support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, something he deemed “actually very possible”.
He went on to read out the names of the Cabinet, saying they were “guilty of collusion with genocide”. Police later arrested the I, Daniel Blake writer.
"They could do that now, they could save lives immediately, and because they are not doing that," Laverty said.
"I would suggest that they are guilty of collusion with genocide. So let's start naming these 22 people. People don't like to be named."
The 22 current members of the UK Cabinet are:
- Prime Minister – Keir Starmer
- Deputy Prime Minister – Angela Rayner
- Chancellor of the Exchequer – Rachel Reeves
- Minister for Intergovernmental Relations – Pat McFadden
- Foreign Secretary – David Lammy
- Home Secretary – Yvette Cooper
- Secretary of State for Defence – John Healey
- Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice – Shabana Mahmood
- Secretary of State for Health and Social Care – Wes Streeting
- Secretary of State for Education, Minister for Women and Equalities – Bridget Phillipson
- Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero – Ed Miliband
- Secretary of State for Work and Pensions – Liz Kendall
- Secretary of State for Business and Trade – Jonathan Reynolds
- Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology – Peter Kyle
- Secretary of State for Transport – Heidi Alexander
- Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs – Steve Reed
- Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport – Lisa Nandy
- Secretary of State for Northern Ireland – Hilary Benn
- Secretary of State for Scotland – Ian Murray
- Secretary of State for Wales – Jo Stevens
- Leader of the House of Commons – Lucy Powell
- Leader of the House of Lords – Baroness Smith of Basildon, Angela Smith
After each name was read, the group shouted “blood on his/her hands”. Laverty also urged groups across the globe to read out the names of their legislators in government.
To cheers, McFarlane entered the station. She was later charged.
The group said they will “redouble our efforts to boycott and isolate the terrorist and genocidal state of Israel”.
In a statement, they added: “It is clear that Starmer and his government are more interested in doing deals with Israel and their largest arms manufacturer Elbit.
“We all need to come together to oppose this corrupt, racist, genocidal government and send a message to Palestine that we stand with them.”
