‘You let us down on the invasion of Iraq, on the invasion of Afghanistan and on top of that you raised the issue of the veil. With your refusal to condemn the Israeli government for the attacks on Gaza, I will not be voting for you. The majority of people in this room will not be voting for you again. And those that do can go to hell…'.

The comment made above came at the end of a heated exchange between members of the Muslim community and Justice Secretary Jack Straw.

It was uttered by Musa Bhai Haldarvi, a local community worker who became incensed that Mr Straw simply would not condemn the Israeli government for their illegal occupation and attacks on Gaza.

When members of the community gathered to face Jack Straw MP in a meeting organised by the Lancashire Council of Mosques there was only one question many wanted answering.

The meeting was attended by both Muslims and non-Muslims who were just as concerned about the situation in Gaza.

Was their MP willing to condemn the Israeli government's attacks on innocent civilians in Gaza? The meeting was a day after a UN school had been bombed and over 30 people killed.

I asked Mr Straw the same question over and over again but he did not or would not answer me with a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’. He instead chose to e-mail a statement a day later.

The statement however was a government stance on the conflict.

And like Foreign Secretary David Miliband (when he appeared on BBC’s Newsnight), Mr Straw was keen not to condemn just Israel as a state but ‘all violence and hostilities directed against civilians and all acts of terrorism.’ The statement added, "The situation in Gaza is a desperate human tragedy, a living hell for those caught up in the conflict and we support the statement of the European Union Presidency, made on behalf of all 27 member countries, that the Israeli action in Gaza has not been proportionate".

Mr Straw's statement fails to answer the key question which left many people in the community angered and let down. And I was surprised it had taken him over 12 days to produce a response over such a pressing issue.

Members of the local Labour group were then quick to release a statement which 'condemned unreservedly the Government of Israel for its brutal and callous killings in Gaza.'

However, statements like these came came ten days into the conflict.

Mr Straw’s statement is clearly at odds with most of his constituents and his local Labour group which in my opinion makes his position untenable.

Days later over 12,000 demonstrated on the streets of Blackburn protesting for peace.

The message was clear and no amount of spin could mask the truth.