More than 150 MPs, including a fifth of the Labour Party's parliamentary party, yesterday joined forces with 17 charities to urge the recall of parliament in London to discuss the crisis in Lebanon.
The move came as Jim Sheridan, the parliamentary private secretary at the UK Ministry of Defence, resigned in protest at British government policy on the Middle East.
The recall initiative was backed by almost all Liberal Democrat MPs, including party leader Sir Menzies Campbell. He said if parliament had not been in recess, the prime minister would have been expected to make a statement on the crisis.
"Given the uncertainties and worsening situation in the Middle East, parliament needs to be recalled as a matter of urgency. Parliament must now have a chance to discuss the government and UN's strategy in detail," he said.
Other supporters for the recall included Scottish National Party leader Alex Salmond and Plaid Cymru's (Welsh Nationalist) Elfyn Llywd.
Labour MPs backing the recall included John Denham, the chairman of the home affairs select committee; Tony Lloyd, the former foreign office minister; Clare Short, the former international development secretary; and, according to some sources, Paddy Tipping, parliamentary aide to the leader of the Commons Jack Straw.
Another signatory was Ann Keen, the parliamentary private secretary to Gordon Brown. Mr Tipping could not be contacted last night. But the recall was opposed by the Opposition Conservatives' foreign affairs spokesman William Hague.
The letter seeking a recall was sent to Mr Straw. It said: "There is huge concern in the country about the current Middle East crisis, and fear that the early failure to insist that Israel and Hizbullah observe an immediate ceasefire has cost many innocent lives and may continue to do so.
"In addition, the use by US supply aircraft to refuel at Prestwick Airport (Scotland) when transporting bombs and military hardware to be used by the Israel Defence Force in air-raids on densely populated civilian areas has given the impression that the UK has assumed a tacitly active . . . role in the conflict."
Mr Straw warned two weeks ago that Israel's action in Lebanon had been disproportionate but has since remained silent. The government has to recommend a recall to the speaker of parliament.
Opponents of a recall argue that Britain is not a central player in the conflict unlike in Iraq, Bosnia, and the Falklands, so MPs have little to contribute.
Kim Howells, the British minister responsible for the Middle East, said yesterday: "I am sure people are very concerned about the situation in the Middle East, I certainly am, but I'm not sure what a recall of parliament would do to alter the situation."
Other groups backing the recall included Amnesty International, Cafod, Christian Aid, Crisis Action, the Muslim Council of Britain, Oxfam, Save the Children, Unison and War on Want. It was also supported by Ken Livingstone, the mayor of London.