'Keir Starmer' Big Head with 16-foot replica MK-84 bomb
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Resource ID
382016
Access
Open
Uploaded by
Emily Gale
Production Date
12 May 25
Country
United Kingdom Of Great Britain And Northern Ireland
Community
England
Region
Europe & Former Soviet Union
Caption
Oxfam’s ‘Keir Starmer’ Big Head appeared outside the UK FCDO placing a gift tag reading “More than 52,000 people killed” on a 16-foot replica MK-84 bomb marked “Complicit” on 12 May 2025, in London United Kingdom. The stunt highlights UK complicity in arms sales to Israel ahead of the government’s High Court hearing on 13 May. Despite suspending some licences, the UK continues supplying components for F-35 jets used in Gaza. Oxfam is calling for an immediate ceasefire and end to arms exports. (photo by Andy Aitchison)
Additional Information
The day before the UK Government appears at the High Court to defend its continued licensing of arms sales to Israel, Oxfam’s Sir Keir Starmer ‘Big Head’ made its first appearance opposite Parliament. ‘Keir’ was putting a gift bow and tag on a replica MK-84 2,000-pound bomb stating ‘Complicit’.
‘Keir’ and campaigners representing the government then carried the bomb to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to deliver a letter demanding that the UK Government stop arming Israel. Over 200,000 people in the UK have now signed Oxfam’s Stop Arming Israel petition. Despite suspending a small number of arms licences to Israel last year, the UK is still supplying parts for the deadly F-35 fighter jets, which drop these lethal bombs.
Israel’s bombing campaign in Gaza has been widely reported as one of the deadliest and destructive in modern history. This includes the frequent use of the MK-84 bomb, with a lethal fragmentation radius of up to 1,100 feet from the point of detonation. Entire families and neighbourhoods have been killed and destroyed, with thousands of people missing or entombed under the rubble. Over 52,000 people have now been killed across Gaza.
Tomorrow, the UK government will appear at the High Court to defend its licensing of ongoing arms exports to Israel. At a preliminary hearing in November last year, the government admitted that Israel is not committed to complying with international humanitarian law (IHL).
The UK government is failing to meet its domestic and international legal obligations to ensure that UK arms are not sold if there is a clear risk of violations of IHL. The International Court of Justice has ruled there is a risk of a genocide in Gaza, and war crimes and crimes against humanity are also being committed. By continuing to licence arms sales to Israel, the UK is complicit in the killing of civilians in Gaza.
Oxfam has witnessed first-hand the devastation the Israeli military has caused across Gaza. Oxfam has been systematically prevented from getting life-saving aid into Gaza and Israel has blocked anything – including food, water, fuel and medicine – from entering Gaza since 2 March. Starvation is widespread and our staff and partners face a constant threat to their lives while trying to sustain basic humanitarian operations.
Oxfam is also calling on the UK Government to use all diplomatic and economic levers to help secure an immediate and permanent ceasefire, use its influence to ensure the safe release of all Israeli hostages as well as unlawfully detained Palestinians, and allow full and unfettered access to humanitarian aid throughout Gaza.
Resource ID
382001
Access
Restricted
Uploaded by
Emily Gale
Production Date
09 May 25
Country
United Kingdom Of Great Britain And Northern Ireland
Region
Europe & Former Soviet Union
Name (public use)
Scott Allen
Resource ID
382004
Access
Restricted
Uploaded by
Emily Gale
Production Date
11 May 25
Country
United Kingdom Of Great Britain And Northern Ireland
Region
Europe & Former Soviet Union
Name (public use)
Nick Franklin
Resource ID
382003
Access
Restricted
Uploaded by
Emily Gale
Production Date
10 May 25
Country
United Kingdom Of Great Britain And Northern Ireland
Region
Europe & Former Soviet Union
Name (public use)
Dominic Vickers
Resource ID
382693
Access
Restricted
Uploaded by
Emily Gale
Production Date
13 May 25
Country
United Kingdom Of Great Britain And Northern Ireland
Community
London
Region
Europe & Former Soviet Union
Name (public use)
Kevin Spencer