British relatives of hostages held by Hamas ask PM to rule out Palestinian state recognition until they are all freed – UK politics live

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British relatives of hostages still held by Hamas ask PM to rule out Palestinian state recognition until they're all freed

Harriet Sherwood is a senior Guardian journalist and former Jerusalem correspondent.

Lawyers representing the British families of hostages held in Gaza by Hamas have warned that the UK government’s intention to recognise a Palestinian state risks disincentivising the release of captives.

In a statement, they say:

The UK has said that it will recognise a Palestinian state unless Israel agrees a ceasefire. But the risk is that Hamas will continue to refuse a ceasefire because if it agrees to one this would make UK recognition less likely.

Families represented by the lawyers have asked the prime minister to “confirm, unambiguously, that Hamas will not be rewarded and that the UK will not take any substantive steps until all the hostages are free.”

A British-Israeli woman who was held hostage by Hamas for more than a year has said that Keir Starmer is “not standing on the right side of history” after his pledge to recognise the Palestinian state, PA Media reports.

In a post on Instagram, Emily Damari said:

Prime Minister Starmer is not standing on the right side of history. Had he been in power during World War II, would he have advocated recognition for Nazi control of occupied countries like Holland, France or Poland?

This is not diplomacy — it is a moral failure. Shame on you, Prime Minister.

As a dual British-Israeli citizen who survived 471 days in Hamas captivity, I am deeply saddened by Prime Minister Starmer’s decision to recognise Palestinian statehood. This move does not advance peace —it risks rewarding terror. It sends a dangerous message: that violence earns legitimacy.

By legitimising a state entity while Hamas still controls Gaza and continues its campaign of terror, the Prime Minister is not promoting a solution; he is prolonging the conflict. Recognition under these conditions emboldens extremists and undermines any hope for genuine peace. Shame on you.!!!

In a statement today, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which has been representing the families of people held hostage by Hamas since the 7 October attack, said recognising Palestine before all the hostages were returned would be a mistake. It said:

Recognizing a Palestinian state while 50 hostages remain trapped in Hamas tunnels amounts to rewarding terrorism. Such recognition is not a step toward peace, but rather a clear violation of international law and a dangerous moral and political failure that legitimizes horrific war crimes.

PM's move 'first meaningful step in addressing deep injustice in Balfour declararation', says Palestinian Mission to UK

Here is the statement from the Palestinian Mission to the UK on Keir Starmer’s announcement yesterday. Husam Zomlot, head of the mission, says the announcement “represents the first meaningful step in addressing the deep injustice rooted in the colonial-era Balfour declaration and the decades of systematic denial of Palestinian rights that followed”.

That is a reference in particular to what David Lammy, the foreign secretary, said in his statement to the UN about this yesterday. He said:

108 years ago, my predecessor as British Foreign Secretary, Arthur Balfour, signed the Declaration that bears his name.

It helped lay the foundations for a homeland for the Jewish people.

And Britain can be proud of that.

Our support for Israel, its right to exist and the security of its people is steadfast.

However, the Balfour declaration came with the solemn promise “that nothing shall be done, nothing which may prejudice the civil and religious rights” of the Palestinian people as well.

Colleagues, this has not been upheld and it is a historical injustice which continues to unfold.

Statement on Starmer's announcement Photograph: Palestinian Mission to UK

Statement on Starmer's announcement Photograph: Palestinian Mission to UK

Tories accuses Starmer of agreeing to recognise Palestinian statehood to 'appease' Labour MPs

Priti Patel, the shadow foreign secretary, was doing a media round this morning. The Conservatives have been strongly critical of Keir Starmer’s decision to recognise Palestinian statehood (unless Israel meets conditions which would be near impossible for Benjamin Netanyahu to accept) and Patel’s comments in part echoed what the Israeli government has been saying. (See 10.50am.) But the Tories are also claiming that this shows Starmer is too weak to stand up to his own MPs.

Patel told GB News:

We’ve just seen the government just really appease its back benches, saying that they will recognise Palestine, but do so without a plan, and that is why this is a very serious issue.

I think it’s a major problem for the British government and also for Britain’s standing in the world. We’ve seen this terrible situation of humanitarian crisis in Gaza for months upon months now, and Britain simply hasn’t been leveraging its influence.

It hasn’t been at the negotiating table. It’s not really done anything in terms of making sure that we’re stepping up to release the hostages, ensure that Hamas has no future role to play.

All the British government has done is effectively issue condemnations to Israel, which I think has emboldened Hamas, and that has not helped anybody. It’s certainly not helped the people in Gaza. It’s not helped aid get into Gaza.

Israeli PM accuses Starmer of rewarding 'monstrous terrorism' and claims Palestinian state would put UK at risk

For the record, here is the full text of what Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli PM, posted on X last night in response to Keir Starmer’s announcement about recognising the state of Palestine.

Starmer rewards Hamas’s monstrous terrorism & punishes its victims.

A jihadist state on Israel’s border TODAY will threaten Britain TOMORROW.

Appeasement towards jihadist terrorists always fails. It will fail you too. It will not happen.

Good morning. I’m Andrew Sparrow, taking over from Joe Coughlan.

Mostly today I will be covering more reaction to yesterday’s news about the UK recognising the state of Palestine (the all-but-certain outcome of Keir Starmer’s announcement yesterday, given the Israeli reaction to the conditions he has set.)

There is not much in the diary today, although at 2pm we will be getting the decision on whether Palestine Action can proceed further with its legal challenge against the Home Office’s decision to proscribe it as a terrorist organisation.

And at 6pm I will be covering a Green party leadership hustings in London. On Friday voting opens in the contest which is between Zack Polanski, the party’s current deputy leader, who is a member of the London assembly, and the two MPs Adrian Ramsay, the current co-leader, and Ellie Chowns, who are running on a joint ticket. The other current co-leader, Carla Denyer, is stepping down.

The contest has not had much coverage yet on his blog, but tonight’s hustings are set to run of for two hours, and I will be covering the debate in detail.

Alexander also doubled down on her cabinet colleague Peter Kyle’s accusation against Nigel Farage for opposing the Online Safety Act.

UK technology secretary, Peter Kyle, has become embroiled in a row with Nigel Farage after saying the Reform leader was on the side of child abusers such as Jimmy Savile when it came to online safety.

Farage called for an apology from Kyle, saying the comparison was “disgusting”. He claimed it was not unreasonable to call for the repeal of the Online Safety Act that came into force last week.

Alexander told Times Radio on Wednesday:

I think the point that Peter was making is that predators today, sexual predators today, operate online. And if social media had been around in the same way as it is today, when Jimmy Savile was committing those crimes against young children, then it’s inconceivable that Jimmy Savile wouldn’t have been in the online space as well.

It is a fact that Nigel Farage and the Reform Party have said that they would repeal the Online Safety Act in its entirety, when of course some of the most significant provisions of that legislation is to protect children from predators, from seeing pornographic material on their phones and on their computers. And so Nigel Farage doesn’t like the truth of the matter when my colleague explains to him the importance of the Online Safety Act and why he is so wrong to be wanting to repeal it.

Alexander said the home secretary will leave “no stone unturned” in getting to the bottom of allegations against police by grooming gangs victims:

I know that the home secretary Yvette Cooper will make sure that we get to the bottom of these allegations and any steps that need to be taken to make sure that a thorough, robust investigation happens.

I know that my colleagues in the Home Office will make sure that no stone is left unturned to get to the bottom of these allegations. And these issues are constantly kept under review.

Heidi Alexander said on Wednesday the decision to recognise a Palestinian state in September is about making sure it comes at the time of “maximum impact” and denied that it’s a “reward for Hamas”.

The transport secretary told Times Radio that plans to recognise to Palestinian statehood are “not at all” about appeasing Hamas.

She said:

Not at all. This isn’t about Hamas. This is about the Palestinian people. It’s been the longstanding position of my party and indeed this government when we came to power last year that we would recognise the state of Palestine at a point in time when it would have maximum impact.

She added that the timing gives Israel eight weeks to respond:

The moment to act is now. We know that the actions of the Israeli government over the last couple of months are actually making the prospects of that two-state solution, a safe and secure Israel alongside a viable and Palestinian, viable sovereign Palestinian state, is making that further and further away.

We’ve seen, haven’t we, on our television, scenes that whole tracts of Gaza have been razed to the ground. There’s the effective annexation of the West Bank happening.

Children are starving in Gaza and their parents are being shot at and killed...We think it’s right that we need to ratchet up the pressure on Israel to lift the restrictions that they have on aid getting into the country. And to say to Israel, if you want to be sat at the table to shape the enduring peace that is so desperately needed in the region, you’ve got eight weeks to act in advance of the UN General Assembly.”

The population of England and Wales is estimated to have grown by more than 700,000 in the year to June 2024, the second largest annual numerical increase in more than 75 years.

Almost all of this increase was due to international migration, with natural change – the difference between births and deaths – accounting for only a small proportion.

There were an estimated 61.8 million people in England and Wales in mid-2024, up 706,881 (1.2%) from 61.1 million in mid-2023, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

It is the second largest numerical jump since at least 1949, when comparable data begins, behind only the rise of 821,210 that took place in the preceding 12 months from mid-2022 to mid-2023.

Five-day resident doctors' strike ends as Streeting stands firm against pay rises

Health secretary Wes Streeting has said talks between the government and the British Medical Association (BMA) could lead to improvements in the working lives of resident doctors but he has repeatedly said there is no more money for pay.

The comments come after the five-day strike across England, which ended at 7am on Wednesday.

BMA leaders have said that there must be some pay discussions during talks and launched a “linked dispute” with the government over a lack of places for doctors in training, which could lead to common ground during future talks.

Mr Streeting said:

We made the decision to cancel as little planned care as possible this year, and thanks to their tireless work it’s clear that far more patients have got the care they need than in previous years.

That said, all industrial action comes with a level of disruption, and I feel angry and frustrated on behalf of those patients who didn’t get the service they expect due to these strikes.

That is why my door is open to the BMA leadership to resume the talks we were having last week, before they walked out.

After a 28.9% pay rise over the last three years, we simply cannot go further on pay this year, but there are real improvements to resident doctors’ working lives we can work hand-in-hand to make – from training positions to career progression and beyond.

After over a decade of being let down, resident doctors deserve better than their current working conditions, ebbing support from the public, and a seemingly intractable position from the BMA leadership, especially given a majority of them didn’t vote for this strike action.

I stand ready to continue our discussions. Our shared ambitions will reap rewards for both patients and staff but they can only be achieved if we work together.”

Hospitals were ordered to press ahead with as much pre-planned care as possible during the strike.

Details on the number of appointments, procedures and operations postponed as a result are expected to be published later this week.

Thornberry also denied the suggestion that the UK is “irrelevant” and said Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu “completely lost it” overnight after Keir Starmer’s statement.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, the chair of the foreign affairs committee was asked whether the UK is irrelevant if it makes demands of Israel that are then ignored.

She said:

No, we are not irrelevant.

If we were completely irrelevant why has Netanyahu completely lost it overnight?

Later referring to the Israeli leader’s statement, she said:

It’s not exactly a considered, diplomatic, careful statement ... it’s a furious statement.

We are long-term allies, we remain long-term allies, but not with this far-right government, not with the way that it is behaving.

With Israel, and with the Israeli people, who are, you know, who are led by a government that is not doing what they want. They want peace.

Emily Thornberry has said it is “great news” that the UK has “finally” said it plans recognise a Palestinian state.

The chair of the foreign affairs committee told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that the UK has to “get on to the front foot” and “kickstart a process”.

Asked whether prime minister Keir Starmer’s announcement was the right move, she said:

It’s great news. I’m so pleased that we finally got there.

This is a major change in British foreign policy, and it’s absolutely the right thing to do.

Asked why it was the right thing, she said:

Because what we’ve been doing until now is sitting close to the Americans and hoping that somehow or other there will be a peace process, and in the middle of that, we will be able to recognise Palestine.

We have to, I think, get onto the front foot and I think what we need to be doing is exactly what the Government has decided they’re going to do, which is to kickstart a process.

And that begins with recognition ... a statement of intent. This is where we want to get to.

Starmer faces pushback following Palestinian statehood announcement

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of UK politics.

UK prime minister Keir Starmer is facing pushback after announcing the UK will recognise a Palestinian state if the crisis in Gaza is not brought to an end.

The prime minister said the UK could take the step of recognising Palestine’s statehood in September, before a major UN gathering.

The UK will only refrain from doing so 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.

Hamas, the Palestinian militant group, must 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”, Starmer also said.

But the PM’s announcement rewards “Hamas’s monstrous terrorism”, his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu, claimed.

In a statement on social media site X, Israel’s prime minister added: “Appeasement towards jihadist terrorists always fails.”

Donald Trump, who met Starmer on Monday and discussed measures to end the starvation faced by Palestinians in Gaza, suggested the pair had not talked about recognising Palestinian statehood.

But Trump said he did not mind the PM “taking a position” on the issue.

This was a contrast with his reaction to Emmanuel Macron’s announcement that France will recognise Palestine at the UN general assembly in September, which the US president said would make no difference.

In other news:

• Transport secretary Heidi Alexander rejected the idea that Keir Starmer’s pledge to recognise a Palestinian state is gesture politics. She told Times Radio on Wednesday that the decision to recognise a Palestinian state in September is about making sure it comes at the time of “maximum impact” and denied that it’s a “reward for Hamas”.

• Nigel Farage is “happy for there to be a free for all on the internet”, Alexander said on Sky News on Wednesday, as she appeared to double down on her fellow Cabinet minister’s claim that the Reform UK leader is on the side of “people like Jimmy Savile”. Technology secretary Peter Kyle also accused Mr Farage of being on the side of “extreme pornographers” on Tuesday.

• Keir Starmer spoke with a series of world leaders throughout Tuesday, including Netanyahu, and King Abdullah II of Jordan, whose nation is leading efforts to airdrop aid into Gaza. About 20 tonnes of aid have been dropped by the UK and Jordan in recent days, according to foreign secretary David Lammy.

• High-level representatives at the UN conference on Tuesday urged Israel to commit to a Palestinian state and gave “unwavering support” to a two-state solution. The New York Declaration, issued by the conference, sets out a phased plan to end the nearly eight-decade conflict and the ongoing war in Gaza.

• Foreign states are becoming bolder in their attempts to silence dissidents in the UK and the government must take stronger action, parliamentarians have warned. In a report published on Wednesday, the Joint Committee on Human Rights said transnational repression had increased in recent years, with foreign states using online harassment, lawsuits and physical violence to intimidate people in the UK.