Sunday shows round-up: Reeves weighs in on Israel
In a major escalation of conflict in the Middle East, Israel and Iran are now engaged in active warfare, trading missile strikes after Israel initially attacked Iranian nuclear sites on Friday. The UK has now sent military jets to the region, and on Sky News this morning, Trevor Phillips asked Chancellor Rachel Reeves if UK military assets could be used in support of Israeli operations. Reeves said it was a 'fast moving situation', but the UK had not been involved so far. She added that Israel had the right to defend itself, and that the UK was 'also very concerned about Iran's nuclear deterrent'. When pressed on potential UK military involvement, Reeves said she couldn't rule anything out, but implied that 'defensive activity' was a possibility. The chancellor said it was a volatile situation, but called for deescalation, warning that what happens in the region would have 'repercussions around the world'.
Tzipi Hotovely: 'There was an imminent threat'
Laura Kuenssberg spoke to Israeli Ambassador to the UK Tzipi Hotovely, and asked her why Israel would not heed calls from its allies to deescalate its actions in the region. Hotovely claimed Israel had to move because Iran was 'racing fast to get nuclear bombs', and said it would be 'devastating to the region' if Iran achieved nuclear capabilities. Kuenssberg reminded Hotovely that US intelligence believe Iran was 'not yet building a nuclear weapon', and so there was no 'imminent threat'. Hotovely said that was false, that Iran was enriching uranium far beyond what is necessary for civil applications, and that Iran's purpose was to 'destroy Israel'.
Reza Pahlavi: 'Anything that weakens the regime… is something that people welcome'
Laura Kuenssberg also interviewed Reza Pahlavi, son of the former Shah of Iran, who argued that this conflict was the fault of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Pahlavi suggested that the people of Iran 'welcome' Israel's attacks as a positive force against the 'strangulation' of the Iranian regime. Kuenssberg asked if Pahlavi really believed that the bombing of Iranian citizens was a good thing. Pahlavi said he didn't believe Israel was deliberately targeting civilians, and described the conflict as an 'opportunity for the Iranian people to finally liberate themselves'. He called on the rest of the world to not 'sit idle', but provide a 'sense of support' for the Iranian people.
Mel Stride: 'When it's come to public and political pressure, they've caved'
The government have announced a national inquiry into grooming gangs, after repeatedly resisting calls to do so. On the BBC today, Rachel Reeves said the prime minister had accepted the recommendations of Baroness Casey's new report, and was focussed 'on the victims… not grandstanding'. However, Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride criticised the government on Sky News, saying the prime minister had 'dithered' and been 'defensive' on the issue. Trevor Phillips said that Starmer had also criticised the Conservatives for not dealing with the problem when they were in power. Stride claimed that they 'did a lot', such as accepting most of the recommendations from the Alexis Jay review. He argued that the government was implementing a national inquiry now because of public and political pressure, and compared it to their U-turn on the winter fuel payments, saying, 'that's not the best way to conduct public policy'.
Darren Jones: Comments on Question Time were 'clipped by Reform in a particular way'
Treasury minister Darren Jones has been criticised for saying on Question Time that the majority of people crossing the Channel in boats are 'children, babies and women'. Home Office figures estimate that 81% of those arriving on small boats are adult men. On GB News, Camilla Tominey asked if Jones accepted that he had 'misled' the audience. Jones argued he had been specifically talking about his visit to the border security command, where he had seen dinghies which did have mostly women and children on board, many of whom 'needed treatment for burns'. Jones said he had been making the point that we need a 'humanitarian response' to go with strong borders. Tominey suggested that the smuggling gangs were 'running rings around' the government at the moment. Jones admitted it was a problem, and said the government was putting more money into the border security command.
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13 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Reverse non-dom crackdown to get Britain building, Reeves urged
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The National
an hour ago
- The National
Paul Laverty: Why I'm wearing this T-shirt to my Edinburgh events
It's truly mind boggling that hundreds may have been arrested, and some face terrorism charges for wearing this shirt. Before we examine these seven words, can I just make two points. Firstly Israeli Finance Minister Smotrich (below, right) said: 'We are leaving Gaza as piles of rubble with total destruction. This has no precedent. And the world isn't stopping us.' He taunts us all. And he's right. Nobody is stopping them. Secondly: The prestigious medical journal The Lancet has pointed out that the deaths in Gaza are likely to massively underestimated. They say that in conflicts like this, there should be a multiplier of between three and 16 of direct deaths (now at 61,599) to cover the indirect deaths too. Edinburgh University Professor Devi Sridhar estimated there could have been over 335,500 direct and indirect deaths, and that was at the end of 2024. We may never know because the Israeli state bans investigators, bans international journalists, and so far has targeted 237 journalists inside Gaza. Now to the first three words of the infamous T-shirt: 'Genocide in Palestine'. At least three UN bodies, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Medicins Sans Frontier, the brilliant report by Forensic Architecture and many more including Israeli Holocaust expert Amos Goldberg have all said the Israeli state is carrying out genocide. Now to the next four words: 'Time to Take Action'. The Genocide Convention came into force in 1951. It was signed by 153 States, including our own. Article 1 states that all signatory states must actively prevent and punish genocide. It states that individuals can be punished as private individuals or as public officials. 'Complicity in Genocide' is explicitly addressed in Article III (e) which includes 'direct assistance' (weapons or arms) and 'indirect assistance' (political and diplomatic support) and crucially 'failure to act'. The demand to take action is not just a a political and moral position, it is an international obligation. READ MORE: Questions on UK spy plane 'over Gaza as Israel killed journalists' There must be an argument that 22 members of the British Cabinet, who have collective responsibility for the great decisions of state (including our own Secretary of State for Scotland, Edinburgh MP Ian Murray) have colluded with genocide in terms of Article 3. No doubt they will have teams of legal experts to argue otherwise. But in the court of public opinion who will ever forget Starmer's very first interview justifying the cutting off food and water to the entire population of Gaza? Who will forget Foreign Secretary Lammy at the despatch box denying that genocide was happening in Gaza, and Starmer too? It is vital to remember that the Labour Government did not revoke any arms licences to Israel until September of 24, long after tens of thousands of innocents had been bombed. Now you can see the Cabinet scramble for cover as the full horror unfolds in front of our eyes. Ian Murray's letter to his constituents is a case in point. Of course he refers to the revocation of some arms licenses, but he also justifies the exception to the F-35 components which go to a 'global pool'. It takes some untangling from his convoluted explanations but it seems that some UK parts for the F-35s go to Nato and also Israel. He states in his letter of August 11: 'I understand it is not possible to suspend all F-35 licenses to the global pool without undermining the global F-35 supply chain that is crucial for the security of the UK and our allies.' 'I understand', you say? In the face of genocide, and the obligations under Article III, what due diligence did you carry out, what independent investigation did you ask for? Where did you get your understanding Mr Murray – from the arms manufacturers, military figures, the head of Leonardo's arms factory in Edinburgh? I suspect a semi-competent monk administrator in the middle ages could organise a system where one recipient did not receive materials from a pool if the will was there. And here we are in the 21st century with AI and barcodes and sophistication beyond our wildest dreams and you can't separate Israel from a global pool? Murray's letter reveals that the RAF fly over Gaza – not to spy, but to help find the hostages. Murray can swallow that, but a full=grown crocodile would struggle. I see no word of looking for the tens of thousands of starving children. He reveals the UK is still training IDF, but it is an insignificant amount of just 10. Remember Clinton's quote: 'It's the economy, stupid.' We could draw a parallel here of the UK to the Israeli state: 'It's the approval, stupid.' Starmer knew how to give a nod and a wink from the very beginning that they would have the Israeli state's back, and the Cabinet has fallen into line. In another letter Murray lists their great achievements to challenge Netanyahu. It would be comic if it were not so tragic, from their summoning of the Israeli ambassador for a ticking off, to an 'unprecedented joint statement' with other countries 'to express our strong opposition ..." How Smotrich and Netanyahu must be trembling. READ MORE: Israel must be banned from World Cup, says Ross Greer Anything with bite is missing. Nothing this UK Government does, even with its revocation of arms licences, impinges on the genocide machine as it continues to murder the starving. Critically, there is no mention of support for the Boycott and Divestment Campaign which could make a difference. And shamefully, not one UK Cabinet member can say seven simple words: 'Genocide in Palestine, time to Take Action.' One day, when it all comes out, as it will, we will look back in horror and ask how it all unfolded. Western collusion will haunt us. The conscience is on the streets. Paul Laverty is an award-winning Scottish screenwriter
Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Daily Mirror
Gaza's sickening starvation death toll rises as Israel attacks intensify
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