THE names of more than 16,000 children killed in Gaza over the past 19 months have been read out by famous artists and supporters in a vigil outside Westminster.

Actors including Steve Coogan and Juliet Stevenson were among readers who read out some 300 names each while stood in the shadow of the Elizabeth Tower in front of a banner which read: “Gaza: Actions Not Words.”

Toby Jones, Emily Watson, Doctor Who star Ncuti Gatwa and Andrea Riseborough, plus presenters Dawn O’Porter and Nadia Sawalha, also read out the names on Thursday as part of the Choose Love-organised campaign.

They denounced Israel’s actions as a genocide, urging people to stand up and protest if they do not agree with what Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s government is doing to try and stop it.

The banner was made up of the names of 1,700 babies, who are one year old or younger, who have been confirmed as dead.

Mr Coogan said that by reading out a name, “you realise they were someone who had a life, albeit a short one and had nothing to do with the conflict.

“They were the innocent victims of the conflict, and that the vast majority of the families had nothing to do with this conflict, even where their families did, it doesn’t justify that kind of response.”

He described what is happening as “not only immoral, it’s illegal under international law, and lots of mainstream news outlets would rather this went away and would rather ignore it.”

Ms Stevenson added: “It is a genocide and I have just been horrified by what has been going on.”

Khalid Abdalla, who played Dodi Fayed in The Crown, described the vigil as “a very moving tribute to the number of children who have been killed, there’s an ongoing genocide.”

The organisers are calling for a halt to arms sales and export licences to Israel, full humanitarian access to Gaza and a commitment to an immediate and lasting ceasefire “to end the starvation and slaughter of children.”

The vigil comes after more than 300 actors, musicians, activists and others used an open letter to call on the PM to “take immediate action to end the UK’s complicity in the horrors of Gaza.”