Starmer faces pressure to recognise Palestinian state immediately
He also said statehood was the 'inalienable right' of the Palestinian people but maintained that a ceasefire should come first.
Sir Keir said: 'I will hold an emergency call with E3 partners tomorrow, where we will discuss what we can do urgently to stop the killing and get people the food they desperately need, while pulling together all the steps necessary to build a lasting peace.'
He will speak to Emmanuel Macron, who has confirmed France will recognise Palestinian statehood, making his country the first G7 nation to do so in a move he said he would formalise at the UN General Assembly in September.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey called for the UK to follow suit, saying the UK 'should be leading on this, not falling behind'.
'Recognise the independent state of Palestine now and take the lead on securing a two-state solution and a lasting peace,' he said.
Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan has also called for immediate recognition, while the Trades Union Congress have pushed for formal recognition of Palestine 'not in a year's time or two years' time – but now'.
Emily Thornberry, chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, said most of its members back recognition right away.
'It is the view of the majority of the committee that the UK Government should immediately recognise the state of Palestine, signalling the UK's desire to work urgently towards a two-state solution alongside our allies,' she said.
Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood said the Government wants to recognise a Palestinian state 'in contribution to a peace process'.
She also told The Times: 'I think there could be multiple benefits. A lot of people would argue that recognition on its own has a symbolic value that could send a strong message to the Israeli government.'
Health Secretary Wes Streeting on Tuesday called for recognition of Palestine 'while there's still a state of Palestine left to recognise'.
Sir Keir said on Thursday: 'We are clear that statehood is the inalienable right of the Palestinian people.
'A ceasefire will put us on a path to the recognition of a Palestinian state and a two-state solution which guarantees peace and security for Palestinians and Israelis,' he said.
Charities operating in Gaza have said that Israel's blockade and ongoing military offensive are pushing people there towards starvation and warned that they are seeing their own workers and Palestinians 'waste away'.
Israel says it allows enough aid into the territory and faults delivery efforts by UN agencies, which say they are hindered by Israeli restrictions and the breakdown of security.
The Prime Minister said: 'The suffering and starvation unfolding in Gaza is unspeakable and indefensible.
'While the situation has been grave for some time, it has reached new depths and continues to worsen. We are witnessing a humanitarian catastrophe.'
He said it is 'hard to see a hopeful future in such dark times' but called again for all sides to engage 'in good faith, and at pace' on a ceasefire and the release of all hostages.
'We strongly support the efforts of the US, Qatar and Egypt to secure this,' he said.
Sir Keir will meet with Donald Trump during his five-day private trip to Scotland, due to kick off on Friday.
US-led peace talks in Qatar have been cut short, the Trump administration's special envoy Steve Witkoff said on Thursday, pointing the finger at Hamas for a 'lack of desire to reach a ceasefire'.
The deal under discussion is expected to include a 60-day ceasefire in which Hamas would release 10 living hostages and the remains of 18 others in phases in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.
Aid supplies would be ramped up and the two sides would hold negotiations on a lasting truce.
Hamas-led militants based in Gaza abducted 251 people in the October 7 attack in 2023 that triggered the war and killed about 1,200 people.
Fewer than half of the 50 hostages still in Gaza are believed to be alive.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
North Wales Chronicle
41 minutes ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Fact check: Recognising a Palestinian state, misleading tsunami video and deportations vs returns
Is the Government on track with its pledge to recognise a Palestinian state? On July 29, the Prime Minister announced that the UK would recognise Palestine as a state in September, ahead of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly, unless Israel meets certain conditions. Labour's manifesto committed to formally recognising a Palestinian state 'as a contribution to a renewed peace process which results in a two-state solution'. A 'two-state solution' refers to a proposed framework to resolve the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, in which a sovereign Palestinian state is established alongside Israel. Previous efforts at a peace process did not result in a sovereign Palestinian state. UK governments have long been in favour of a two-state solution, as well as recognising a Palestinian state as part of a process towards that goal. All members of the G7 group of countries have pledged support for a two-state solution, as has the EU and China. Palestine is currently designated by the UN as a 'permanent observer state', a form of non-member state, meaning it cannot vote on decisions made by the UN's main organs and bodies, such as the General Assembly. However, the majority of UN member states have formally recognised Palestine. According to media reports, as of July 2025, some 147 UN member states formally recognised Palestinian statehood, not including France, which in the same month committed to recognising Palestine at the General Assembly in September. The UK is not included in this figure, although it does have a Consulate General in Jerusalem to assist British nationals in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. It has been reported that a number of UK peers have questioned the legal basis for any recognition of a Palestinian state. Full Fact has contacted the Government for comment on this. How fact checkers helped set the record straight on PM's viral video When 31-year-old Abby Raworth first realised her photo and name were being shared online – falsely linked to a viral video involving the Prime Minister – she assumed it was a mix-up. Posts on social media claimed that the woman in the video was not mum-of-three Nicola but was really a 'paid actress' or 'actress and agent' named Abby Raworth. Full Fact's investigation brought to light how much was being written about her online 'without any regard for if it was correct or not.' Abby has spoken to Full Fact about her experience, telling us: 'What shocks me is how little people bothered to do regarding checks before they used someone's name and accused them of something. There is a lack of accountability for what comes out of peoples' mouths and if it had happened to any of those people they would have a different opinion on it.' We're grateful to Abby for sharing her story to help show exactly why Full Fact exists to counter the harm caused by misinformation. Old tsunami video circulates amid Pacific evacuations A video circulating online amid major evacuations across the Pacific is claimed to show a tsunami which has taken 'thousands of lives'. But this is misleading. The footage shows three people, including the person filming, narrowly escape huge waves that crash into some small boats on a shore. It was shared online following news of an 8.8 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Russia, which triggered the evacuation of almost two million people across Japan. Warnings were also put in place in other locations including Hawaii, Ecuador, Indonesia, Peru and China. A caption shared with the video said: 'Massive Earthquake triggers Tsunami taking thousands of lives in seconds with little to no warning.' But this footage is not current, or related to the earthquake in Russia or the subsequent tsunami warnings. It actually showed a tsunami which occurred on the west coast of Greenland in 2017, triggered by a landslide. That tsunami did not kill 'thousands', as stated in the social media posts. Four people were killed, and nine others were injured. The same footage has been wrongly shared in the wake of other earthquakes before. Has Labour carried out 'record deportations'? Labour MP Mike Tapp recently claimed that the Government has carried out 'record deportations'. We've frequently seen MPs and ministers using the word 'deportations' when referring to all immigration returns. Not all immigration returns are 'deportations'. We don't actually know how many meet the official definition of a deportation, which the Home Office defines as 'a specific subset of returns which are enforced either following a criminal conviction or when it is judged that a person's removal from the UK is conducive to the public good'. We do know, however, that enforced returns – the category of returns which includes deportations – account for a minority (26%) of all returns carried out under Labour during its first year in office. According to ad-hoc figures published by the Home Office, during Labour's first year in office a total of 35,052 returns were recorded. We don't have the data to compare this exact period to the same period in previous years, but official immigration statistics show that this figure is not a record for the number of immigration returns over a 12-month period, going back to 2004 when this data series began. These figures show that immigration returns over a 12-month period were consistently above 40,000 between 2010 and 2016, for example. It does appear, however, that the 35,052 returns in the first year of this Labour government represents the highest 12-month figure since 2017. While we don't know how many of these returns were official 'deportations', the figures show that the 9,115 enforced returns carried out between 5 July 2024 and 4 July 2025 also do not represent a record. While this figure is the highest number of enforced returns carried out over a 12-month period since 2018, prior to 2018 enforced returns were consistently above 10,000 over a 12-month period. MPs should use statistics transparently and with all relevant context and caveats, and quickly rectify oversights when they occur.
Powys County Times
42 minutes ago
- Powys County Times
Hostage families: Releases will play ‘no part' in UK plan to recognise Palestine
Sir Keir Starmer announced earlier this week that the UK would take the step of recognising Palestine in September ahead of the UN General Assembly unless Israel meets certain conditions. Members of four British families met with Foreign Office officials on Thursday night seeking clarification on whether conditions would also be placed on Hamas, their lawyers said in a statement. 'However, it was clear from the meeting last night that the British Government's policy will not help the hostages, and could even hurt them,' they said. 'We do not say this lightly, but it was made obvious to us at the meeting that although the conditions for recognising a Palestinian state would be assessed 'in the round' in late-September, in deciding whether to go ahead with recognition, the release or otherwise of the hostages would play no part in those considerations. 'In other words, the 'vision for peace' which the UK is pursuing… may well involve our clients' family members continuing to rot in Hamas dungeons.' Sir Keir had said the UK would only refrain from recognising Palestine if Israel allows more aid into Gaza, stops annexing land in the West Bank, agrees to a ceasefire, and signs up to a long-term peace process over the next two months. While he also called for Hamas to immediately release all remaining Israeli hostages, sign up to a ceasefire, disarm and 'accept that they will play no part in the government of Gaza', he did not explicitly say these would factor into whether recognition would go ahead. The families have a range of views on what the future political settlement should look like but their priority is to keep the hostages 'above political games,' their lawyers said. They are now urging the Prime Minister to 'change course before it is too late'. 'At a minimum, the British hostage families request that the Government confirm that without the hostages being released, there can be no peace, and that this will be an important part of its decision as to whether to proceed with recognition and its current plan.' Sir Keir said that he 'particularly' listens to hostages after criticism of his plans from Emily Damari, a British-Israeli who was held captive by Hamas. The families of Ms Damari and freed hostage Eli Sharabi were among those who met with the Foreign Office. Also present were relatives of Nadav Popplewell, who died while held captive, as well as those of Oded Lifshitz, who died, and Yocheved Lifschitz, who was released. Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds has said that the UK will not get into a 'to and fro' with Hamas over the recognition plans and that 'we don't negotiate with terrorists, Hamas are terrorists'. US President Donald Trump disagrees with Sir Keir's plans, as well as those of France and Canada, which have also pledged their countries will recognise Palestine. 'He feels as though that's rewarding Hamas at a time where Hamas is the true impediment to a ceasefire and to the release of all of the hostages,' White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
North Wales Chronicle
43 minutes ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Starmer and Zelensky ‘welcomed' Trump's new deadline for Russia peace effort
In a call on Friday, the men agreed that 'it was clear Russia was the only barrier to peace', according to an official summary of their conversation. US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he was giving Russian President Vladimir Putin a shorter deadline – August 8 – for peace efforts to make progress, or Washington would impose punitive sanctions and tariffs. 'The Prime Minister began by sharing his condolences for the deadly attack on Kyiv in recent days,' according to the readout. It continued: 'It was a bitter reminder of the human cost of the awful conflict perpetrated by Russia, the Prime Minister added. 'The Prime Minister then updated on President Trump's visit to the UK, and both leaders welcomed the president's new deadline on Russia to stop their stalling tactics and make meaningful progress on a peace deal. 'It was clear Russia was the only barrier to peace, the leaders agreed.' Mr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, said on X that he had spoken to Sir Keir. 'Keir expressed his condolences over the deaths of our people as a result of Russia's attack on Kyiv,' Mr Zelensky said. 'It was an absolutely vile and brutal missile and drone strike that took the lives of 31 people, including 5 children. Our conversation today focused on how to stop the killings, provide greater protection for our people, and force Russia to end this war.' I spoke with the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, @Keir_Starmer. Keir expressed his condolences over the deaths of our people as a result of Russia's attack on Kyiv. It was an absolutely vile and brutal missile and drone strike that took the lives of 31 people, including 5… — Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) August 1, 2025 Mr Zelensky said Russia 'genuinely fears' sanctions, 'no matter how hard it pretends that it couldn't care less'. He continued: 'Sanctions are undoubtedly working – and there will be more. We are working with everyone on coordinated restrictive measures. 'We discussed our cooperation with American partners, particularly the coordination of actions with President Trump and possible formats for peace negotiations at the level of leaders.' Mr Zelensky and Sir Keir also discussed battlefield technology. 'We discussed the urgent need to scale up drone production, especially interceptor drones,' the Ukrainian president said. 'There is a specific financial need, and we agreed to find a solution.' Number 10 said Sir Keir 'updated on the strong progress being made at rapid pace' and 'welcomed the passing of Ukraine's anti-corruption bill earlier this week'.
