KEIR Starmer has declined to say whether Labour would work with the SNP on a new Gaza ceasefire motion.
SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn has called for support among opposition parties for a fresh motion.
It comes after a previous attempt to debate the issue saw the House of Commons descend into chaos and demands for the Speaker to resign in what were described as “shameful scenes”.
READ MORE: Gaza Speaker row: What did Lindsay Hoyle do and what happens next?
And the SNP have called for an investigation after a Labour MP admitted he deliberately sought to wreck the SNP motion on Wednesday last week.
Starmer has been accused of pressuring the Speaker to break convention during the debate last week, against clerk's advice, which meant the SNP's motion could not be voted on by MPs.
The UK Labour leader has denied the accusations, however, the Sunday Times reported that Labour MPs gathered behind the Speaker’s chair allegedly were heard talking loudly of how “Keir is going to fix the Speaker”.
He also refused to answer three times whether his MPs had threatened the Speaker during an interview with the BBC.
And now, the Labour leader told broadcasters in Shrewsbury: “I think this is a matter for the SNP.”
He said: “We should be talking about an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, that’s Labour’s position.
“That was actually passed by Parliament last week. That’s good.
“We now, I think, all need to work to make those words a reality. Not just for the next few days, it’s urgent now, but also as a longer-term path to the two-state solution that is the only political way out of this awful situation.”
READ MORE: Podcast: Inside the Speaker Gaza ceasefire row with SNP chief whip
Starmer said the focus should be on Gaza, not the parliamentary process.
Earlier, Flynn wrote to Starmer and LibDem leader Ed Davey calling on them to support a fresh motion.
The SNP has reached out to both parties to hold talks on the matter, the party said.
Wendy Chamberlain, LibDem chief whip and MP for North East Fife, replied on Davey's behalf and said he was in Palestine and Israel to "listen directly to the people impacted by the conflict" and so could not meet.
Chamberlain, after stating that "party political game playing is irresponsible and crass", said she was free to meet instead.
Earlier, Flynn said: “After the shameful scenes at Westminster last week, it’s vital the UK Parliament urgently focuses on what really matters, doing everything we can to help secure an immediate ceasefire and lasting peace in Gaza and Israel.
“The SNP wants to move the debate forward with a fresh motion that focuses on the specific, practical, concrete steps the UK government must now take to help make an immediate ceasefire happen.
“As a key ally and defence trading partner of Israel, and a member of the UN Security Council, the UK has an important role to play but the UK Government, which still opposes even calling for an immediate ceasefire, is not doing anywhere near enough to secure one.”
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