Charity distances itself from employee who accused government of financing Gaza ‘genocide’

A senior figure in international anti-poverty charity ActionAid has suggested that the British government is “bankrolling a genocide in Gaza”.

Frankie Leach, who serves as ActionAid UK’s head of media, responded aggressively to a video posted by Foreign Secretary David Lammy attempting to draw attention to the crisis in Sudan.

In his video, Lammy described the situation in Sudan as the “biggest humanitarian catastrophe on the planet”.

He continued: “I just sat with a woman who showed me the burn marks, she had been burned by soldiers. She had been beaten. And she had been raped”.

“Where is the liberal outrage”, asked the Foreign Secretary, adding: “We cannot have a hierarchy, with this conflict at the bottom” and continued to say that the UK had doubled aid to Sudan to £230 million since coming into office – which he said reached 800,000 people.

Leach, previously an advisor to Jeremy Corbyn during his leadership of the Labour Party, quoted the video and suggested there was a “disgusting”, “hidden” message in it “that people who are horrified at this government bankrolling a genocide in Gaza seemingly don't care about the horrors in Sudan”.

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She added: “Also, would the foreign secretary care to unpick his dog whistle ‘liberal outrage’ phrase?”.

Leach also described Lammy’s video as “Trumpian”.

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In a different post, responding to the video directly, she said: “This is your responsibility! You are the foreign secretary! What are you and the government doing to apply pressure on foreign powers who are bankrolling the genocide in Sudan? Why are you using this crisis to point score about being held to account for policy on Gaza? Insane!”

Her now-deleted remarks were severely criticised by several Labour MPs.

Labour Friends of Israel chair Jon Pearce MP said: "Sudan is the biggest humanitarian crisis in the world, with the Sudanese people facing violence on an unimaginable scale.

He continued: “As the foreign secretary powerfully set out, we must not forget what is happening there. It's outrageous and frankly beyond belief that a staff member at a charity that claims to be focussed on creating a world free from poverty and injustice could take issue with this point. Indeed, it shows why David was right to highlight the terrible plight in Sudan."

MP for Bermondsey and Old Southwark Neil Coyle told the JC that: “The British Foreign Secretary should be applauded for trying to secure attention for conflicts and persecution like that affecting Sudan, Rohingya Muslims and more. Some conflicts get very little coverage despite the millions affected.”

He added: “Some on the Left also seem to only obsess over Israel’s actions. When they speak for aid organisations it is desperately sad.”

North Durham MP Luke Akehurst said it was “bizarre and grotesque that someone who works for a significant aid charity would criticise the Foreign Secretary for highlighting the horrific human rights and humanitarian crisis in Sudan and the lack of public outrage about it.”

Between 2019-2023 ActionAid received £4.3 million in government grants and £2.4 million in government contracts.

Jonathan Eida, researcher at the Taxpayers' Alliance told the JC that given that, ActionAid “needs to ensure its staff are held to a higher standard".

They added: “to see a member of staff using social media to air their activist political opinions will be concerning.”

ActionAid, an international charity that works with women and girls living in poverty, has previously suggested that Israel may be guilty of genocide in Gaza.

A statement on January 15 welcoming the ceasefire in Gaza between Israel and Hamas – which did not mention the atrocities committed by the terrorist group on October 7 or Hamas directly – said that: “The Israeli government must be held accountable for all violations of international humanitarian law and comply with ongoing proceedings by the international courts into the charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.”

Between January 1, 2024 and January 29 this year, ActionAid only posted about Sudan once.

By contrast, in 2025 alone, the organisation posted numerous times about the conflict in Gaza.

However, a spokesperson for the charity claimed this was because ActionAid does not operate in Sudan, rather than any suggestion that the charity thought the conflict there – described by former US Secretary of State Antony Blinken as a genocide – did not merit attention.

“ActionAid is deeply committed to protecting civilians in conflicts and providing humanitarian support. The humanitarian situation in Sudan is catastrophic and while ActionAid does not currently have a presence in the country, we support all efforts to raise awareness of the crisis and bring the devastating conflict to an end”, they said.

The group has been operating in the West Bank and Gaza since 2007 and has 12 local partner organisations.

ActionAid also sought to distance itself from Leach’s comments.

A spokesperson told the JC: “ActionAid takes its commitment to political neutrality and impartiality seriously. While our employees are entitled to personal views, these views should not be taken to represent the organisation’s position.”

They continued: “The posts in question have since been deleted, and all staff have been reminded to adhere to ActionAid’s social media guidelines.”