Justin Welby’s call came as British Palestinians with relatives in Gaza demanded a meeting with the prime minister
The archbishop of Canterbury has called for a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas, saying the scale of civilian deaths and humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza could not be “morally justified”.
“The killing must stop,” Justin Welby said, adding that the call for a ceasefire was a “moral cry”.
Continue reading...UK and Taiwan sign trade agreement they hailed as a first in fostering bilateral trade between Taiwan and Europe
China’s government has accused the UK of using trade cooperation “as an excuse” to enhance its ties with Taiwan, after the announcement of a bilateral trade talks agreement.
On Wednesday Taiwan’s representative to the UK, Kelly Hsieh, and his British counterpart based in Taipei, John Dennis, signed an enhanced trade partnership (ETP). The agreement paves the way for future talks on green energy, digital trade and investment, among other trade-based issues. The UK is Taiwan’s third-biggest trading partner in Europe and 21st largest overall.
Continue reading...US secretary of state echoes White House line, while UK favours rule by ‘peace-loving Palestinian leadership’
Israel must not reoccupy Gaza, the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, has said, adding however that Israel might control the territory for a transition period.
The comments, made at the end of a G7 foreign ministers’ meeting in Japan, echoed White House remarks on Tuesday suggesting opposition to a long-term occupation of Gaza.
Continue reading...Peers express fears that Jagtar Singh Johal will not receive ‘due process’ in India amid torture claims
Assurances by a UK minister that a British man imprisoned in India will receive a fair trial fly in the face of evidence that he has been tortured and arbitrarily detained, three lawyers who held senior public roles have warned.
To coincide with the sixth anniversary of Jagtar Singh Johal’s detention, Ken MacDonald KC, Elish Angiolini KC and Jim Wallace KC have written to the UK Foreign Office minister Lord Ahmad asking him to retract his recent comments saying that the British citizen would receive “due process” in India.
Continue reading...Scotland first minister’s parents-in-law among those evacuated, amid concerns for those stuck in northern Gaza
The first people in a group of about 100 Britons due to leave Gaza on Friday have made the crossing into Egypt, amid concerns about whether individuals in the north of the Palestinian territory will be able to make it to the southern Rafah crossing.
By Friday, there were 127 people on the UK list to be evacuated into Egypt since the crossing opened on Wednesday, more than three weeks after the conflict began in which thousands of Palestinians and Israelis have been killed. Among those able to leave Gaza were the parents-in-law of Scotland’s first minister, Humza Yousaf, who described the last four weeks as a “living nightmare” for the family of his wife, Nadia El-Nakla.
Continue reading...Critics say government shies away from standing up to Netanyahu in tilt to Indo-Pacific and pursuit of Middle East trade deals
Concerns that the UK Foreign Office has neglected the Israel-Palestine conflict in its tilt to the Indo-Pacific and the pursuit of trade deals across the Middle East is to be investigated by the foreign affairs select committee.
Alicia Kearns, the chair of the committee, which will start holding evidence sessions on the issue in November, has been one of the most prominent MPs warning that a crisis was brewing that required greater attention and a more robust approach from the UK towards Israel’s new government.
Continue reading...Relatives of the 200 British or dual nationals trying to leave describe scenes of chaos and desperation
The families of British citizens trapped in Gaza have said it is devastating that their loved ones have been turned away from the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, as the Foreign Office said the first UK nationals had made it through.
Hundreds of foreign passport holders and injured Palestinians requiring hospital treatment crossed into Egypt on Wednesday after more than three weeks of conflict in which thousands of people have been killed.
Continue reading...Some have waited years in Pakistan for Britain to fulfil its promises – and are now at risk of deportation
For a year after the fall of Kabul and the swift withdrawal of international allies from Afghanistan, Jawed* and his family were in hiding, evading the ruling Taliban as they counted the days waiting for relocation promises from the British government to be realised.
“But that didn’t happen. To this day, two years and two months [later], we’re still living in limbo,” Jawed, a former English teacher for the British Council, said from a hotel in Islamabad.
Continue reading...Bolivia’s leftwing government cuts diplomatic ties with Israel, alleging crimes and human rights abuses in Gaza, as Chile and Colombia recall ambassadors
A number of South American countries have registered diplomatic protests against Israel, in response to its latest conflict with Hamas, with Bolivia’s leftwing government cutting ties entirely and attributing its decision to alleged war crimes and human rights abuses being committed in the Gaza Strip.
The decision by Bolivia was announced at a press conference on Tuesday afternoon by María Nela Prada, a minister in President Luis Arce’s administration. “We demand an end to the attacks on the Gaza Strip which have so far claimed thousands of civilian lives and caused the forced displacement of Palestinians,” the minister told reporters in her country’s de facto capital, La Paz.
Continue reading...Paul Bristow is first frontbencher to lose job over calling for an end to hostilities in Israel-Hamas war
A Conservative MP has been sacked from his government job after breaking ranks to publicly urge Rishi Sunak to back a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.
Paul Bristow was dismissed as a ministerial aide at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology on Monday after writing to the prime minister to call for an end to hostilities between Israel and Hamas to save lives.
Continue reading...Keir Starmer has ‘listened’ to rebels and will ‘continue engaging’, says Peter Kyle, amid mounting pressure from senior party figures
Members of Keir Starmer’s shadow cabinet will not be punished if they break party ranks by demanding a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, because Labour is a “diverse party”, Peter Kyle has suggested.
The shadow science, innovation and technology minister also rejected claims that Labour was taking Muslim votes for granted, and said the party was not basing its policy on the conflict around what might win votes.
Continue reading...People with families in Gaza call on British government to help get them out and to join calls for ceasefire
On Friday evening, as Israeli air and ground forces ramped up their operations in the Gaza Strip and a communications blackout fell across the embattled territory, Salim Hammad received a text from the UK Foreign Office notifying him of a possible increase in attacks and violence.
“What are we supposed to do with that information?” said Salim, a 34-year-old doctor in Oxford whose father, Abdel, is stuck at the Rafah border crossing.
Continue reading...Those unable to leave or with family trapped there say they feel hopeless and have had no help
In late August, Nasser Hamid Said made an emergency trip from London to Gaza with his wife and two children after the death of his sister. For the past 20 days the family have been caught up in an altogether different nightmare: sheltering with relatives amid nonstop Israeli airstrikes and growing fears of an invasion.
“I’m fearful for my children,” he said over the sound of airstrikes in the city of Jabalia. “We need from our government just help to get out. What are they waiting for? I don’t understand.”
Continue reading...The foreign secretary, James Cleverly, claims he’s making a difference in the Middle East but barely has a walk-on part
It’s all very confusing. On Monday, during his statement to the Commons, I could have sworn I heard Rishi Sunak say – with great modesty – he had been vitally important in international efforts to limit the violence in the Middle East. Only his personal interventions with Benjamin Netanyahu, Mohammed bin Salman and Abdel Fatah al-Sisi had prevented an even worse humanitarian catastrophe. Some were even proclaiming him to be a global peacemaker. A saviour among men.
So it was a surprise on Tuesday to hear James Cleverly making pretty much the same claims for himself during Foreign Office questions. Time and again, the foreign secretary would preface an answer with a reference to his own diplomatic missions to the Middle East. He alone had a full grasp of what was at stake as politicians from Israel, Turkey, Egypt and Qatar had begged him for advice. Sure, the prime minister had done his bit, but that had been largely cosmetic. The real donkey work had been done by him. The Great Jimmy Dimly.
Continue reading...Communities secretary calls for safe return of Israeli hostages during Trafalgar Square event
The communities secretary, Michael Gove, has told a rally in central London that the UK must stand with Israel in its fight against Hamas, as hundreds gathered to call for the safe return of hostages.
The “solidarity rally” in Trafalgar Square on Sunday afternoon was organised by a number of groups, including the Board of Deputies of British Jews. Many in the crowd chanted “Bring them home” and held signs saying “Release the hostages” as they queued to get in.
Continue reading...British PM flew to Saudi Arabia after Netanyahu stressed Israel’s need for ‘continuous’ UK support in war with Hamas
Rishi Sunak has urged Saudi Arabia to use its influence to support stability in the Middle East after flying there following talks in Israel with Benjamin Netanyahu, who told him his country was counting on the UK’s “continuous support” in what will be a long war with Hamas.
Britain wanted Israel “to win”, the prime minister told his Israeli counterpart during a joint press conference in Jerusalem following talks that were part of diplomatic efforts to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza and prevent a wider regional conflict.
Continue reading...Sunak says British intelligence is working at pace to ‘get to the bottom’ of explosion at al-Ahli hospital
Rishi Sunak has urged MPs not to rush to judgment over the blast at a hospital in Gaza, as he was repeatedly urged by the Labour leader, Keir Starmer, to remind Israel to respect international law.
Sunak said British intelligence was working at pace to analyse evidence and “to get to the bottom” of the explosion al-Ahli hospital, which was reported to have killed hundreds of civilians.
Continue reading...Defence minister says Chinese jet came within five meters of Canadian surveillance plane on UN operation over international waters
Canada’s defence minister has accused China fighter jets of carrying out a “dangerous and reckless” interception of a Canadian military plane over international waters.
Bill Blair spoke after Canada’s Global News said a Chinese jet had come within five meters (16ft) of a Canadian surveillance plane taking part in a UN operation to enforce sanctions against North Korea.
Continue reading...James Cleverly says updated figure of those captured in attack on Israel is ‘not an unreasonable estimate’
Up to 10 Britons are being held hostage by Hamas in Gaza, the foreign secretary has said, higher than previous informal estimates.
Israel estimates that 126 people from different countries are being held hostage, with reports previously suggesting six of those taken were British. Up to 17 British people, including children, are thought to be dead or missing since the conflict began last weekend.
Continue reading...Finance minister offers standing invitation to ‘intensify your trade relationship to the EU’
The German finance minister has issued an open invitation to the UK to reach a new deal to improve Brexit trading relations that would reduce trade barriers and “obstacles in daily business life”.
Christian Lindner told the BBC: “This is a standing invitation for the UK: if you want to intensify your trade relationship to the EU, call us. We really appreciate the United Kingdom and its values, its people … and I would really, really appreciate it if we can intensify [the trade relationship] again.”
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