UK’s main opposition leader visits Turkish relief centre in Edinburgh

Britain’s main opposition Labour Party leader has visited a Turkish earthquake relief center in Edinburgh.

Keir Starmer, accompanied by Scottish Labour Party leader Anas Sarwar, conveyed his condolences over the devastating disaster and reiterated his support on Sunday. 

“Two weeks on from the earthquake in Türkiye and Syria, the scale of the tragedy and devastation it caused is only now becoming clear,” Starmer wrote in a post on Twitter.

During the visit, Turkish Consul General Ozgur Yavuzer informed the Labour Party team of the relief efforts.

“We thank him and the Labour Party for their solidarity,” he said on Twitter.

READ MORE: Ugandan schools raise $10,000 for earthquake victims in Türkiye

Türkiye earthquakes

At least 41,020 people have been killed by two strong earthquakes that jolted southern Türkiye on February 6, according to the latest figures from the country’s disaster management agency.

More than 5,800 were also killed in neighbouring Syria bringing the total death toll from both countries to over 46,000.

The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 quakes were centred in Kahramanmaras and struck 10 other provinces — Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Hatay, Gaziantep, Malatya, Kilis, Osmaniye, Elazig and Sanliurfa.

More than 13 million people have been affected by the devastating quakes.

Several countries in the region, including Syria and Lebanon, also felt the strong tremors that struck Türkiye in the space of less than 10 hours.

READ MORE: Over 6,000 aftershocks occurred after February 6 Türkiye quakes – AFAD