A PLAID Cymru MS has scolded an “utterly disgusting” squabble in the House of Commons over a ceasefire in Gaza - held as the conflict’s death toll neared 30,000.

Furious MPs have accused the speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle of allowing Labour to "hijack" the SNP's motion which called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and Israel. Conventionally, one opposition party cannot amend another's motion.

Sir Lindsay Hoyle has said he regrets the unusual decision, telling MPs: “I made a mistake. We do make mistakes. I own up to mine.”

‘Farce’

The Senedd passed a Plaid Cymru motion for a ceasefire in November. Peredur Owen Griffiths, MS for South Wales East, has compared the cross-party support in Cardiff Bay with this week’s “debacle”.

“What we saw in the Commons on Wednesday was reprehensible,” he told the Argus.

“Long-standing conventions were ripped up to marginalise the voices of minority parties in the chamber and provide a means for a Labour Party struggling with matters of conscience to dodge a vote on an immediate ceasefire.”

South Wales Argus: Newport MPs have faced calls to support a ceasefire since at least NovemberNewport MPs have faced calls to support a ceasefire since at least November (Image: Sam Portillo)

Mr Griffiths said that, after leaving the chamber, his party’s MPs waited in the voting lobbies to support a ceasefire after the “farce”.

“Political squabbles and potential corruption are never good to see but when it comes on the back of an issue where thousands of innocent people’s lives in Gaza are on the line, it is utterly disgusting," he said.

READ MORE: Ceasefire campaigners 'lost for words' over Newport MPs' vote on Gaza

“An immediate ceasefire, hostage exchange and large-scale humanitarian operation is desperately needed to prevent more innocent people from losing their lives.

“Around 30,000 people in Gaza are believed to have died. How many more have to die before the likes of Starmer and Sunak say that enough is enough?"

Labour's motion for an "immediate humanitarian ceasefire" has passed, calling for the return of all hostages taken by Hamas militants and a diplomatic process for achieving a two-state solution and lasting peace.