Sadiq Khan calls on Britain to recognise Palestine

Telegraph

23-07-2025

Sir Sadiq Khan has joined a growing number of senior Labour figures calling on Sir Keir Starmer to recognise Palestine as a state.
The Mayor of London said on Wednesday that the Government should 'immediately recognise Palestinian statehood' and argued that there 'can be no two state solution if there is no variable state left to call Palestine'.
His intervention comes amid growing calls among senior Labour figures, including at least three Cabinet ministers, for the Government to bring forward its recognition of Palestine.
The UK is planning to formally designate Palestine as a state, in defiance of the Israeli government, but says it will do so with allies 'at the point of maximum impact'.
However, Sir Keir is facing severe pressure from members of his own team to do so earlier, including Wes Streeting, Shabana Mahmood and Hilary Benn, according to reports.
The UK must immediately recognise Palestinian statehood.
There can be no two state solution if there is no viable state left to call Palestine. pic.twitter.com/wlnzNIt0bQ
— Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan (@MayorofLondon) July 23, 2025
In a statement, Sir Sadiq said that the 'absolutely harrowing scenes of suffering in Gaza are being made worse by the day, with no sign of the crisis abating', including 'starving children searching hopelessly for food in the rubble' and 'family members shot dead by Israeli soldiers as they search for aid'.
He said: 'In heartbreaking scenes, innocent lives are being torn apart before the eyes of the world.
'The international community – including our own government – must do far more to pressure the Israeli government to stop this horrific, senseless killing and let vital life-saving aid in.
'Nothing justifies the actions of the Israeli government. The UK must immediately recognise Palestinian statehood. There can be no two state solution if there is no viable state left to call Palestine.'
His words echoed a rare intervention on foreign policy by Mr Streeting in the Commons chamber on Tuesday, immediately before MPs rose for the summer recess.
He said: 'I sincerely hope that the international community can come together, as the foreign secretary has been driving towards, to make sure that we see an end of this war but also that we recognise the state of Palestine while there is a state of Palestine left to recognise.'
Ms Mahmood, the Justice Secretary, and Mr Benn, the Northern Ireland Secretary, have raised the issue in private meetings with Sir Keir in recent months, according to The Guardian.
Earlier this month, almost 60 Labour MPs issued the same call in an open letter to Downing Street.
Their intervention was prompted by the announcement by Israel Katz, Israel's defence minister, that he would force all residents in Gaza to move to a camp in what remains of the city of Rafah.
David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, has ramped up his rhetoric towards Israel in recent weeks, telling the BBC on Tuesday the country's military actions in Gaza were 'grotesque'.
The UK is among a list of 27 countries that have called for an immediate end to the war, while Antonio Guterres, the UN secretary general, has said 'last lifelines keeping people alive [in Gaza ] are collapsing'.
At a meeting of the Commons Liaison Committee on Monday, Sir Keir said the Government would recognise Palestine 'at a time most conducive to the prospects of peace'.
Later this month, France and Saudi Arabia will chair a UN conference on the issue, which could provide a forum for allies to recognise Palestine.
But a joint recognition statement has already been delayed once by a lack of progress in ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas.
The US has backed proposals for a 60-day ceasefire, which is under discussion at peace negotiations in Doha.