Douglas Alexander MP, Labour’s Shadow Foreign Secretary, commenting on David Cameron’s attendance at the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Sri Lanka, said:

“Tragically, the Prime Minister has blundered badly on Sri Lanka, and has found himself unprepared for the growing controversy surrounding the reluctance of President Rajapaksa to alter his approach to the human rights of his own citizens.

“For months Labour has called for a full and independent UN-led international investigation into the alleged crimes against humanity that took place during Sri Lanka’s two decades of civil war.

“The harrowing scenes we are seeing today serve to emphasise the widespread concern that human rights organisations have consistently raised about the reported war crimes and atrocities committed at the end of the civil war in 2009, and the regime’s reluctance to fully investigate them.

“David Cameron must now yield to the longstanding calls from Labour and others for an international investigation into these alleged crimes, if he fails to do then he risks missing another opportunity to influence the Sri Lankan authorities.”