Starmer says, when media admitted to Gaza, he expects further debate about ‘full horror’ of what happened there
Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, asks for more detail of what the UK is doing to help ensure more aid gets into Gaza.
He says all the bodies of dead hostages need to be returned.
And he asks what the UK is doing to ensure that the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements on the West Bank stops.
Starmer thanks Davey for the “content and tone” of his response. (He is making a contrast with Badenoch’s.)
On aid, he says there is a need for more trucks be admitted to Gaza.
On the bodies of hostages, Starmer says he agrees with Davey.
He says, when the media are finally admitted to Gaza, he thinks there will be ‘“quite some debate” in the Commons about “the full horror” of what happened.
And he says the UK has told Israel that illegal settlements should not be allowed on the West Bank.
Key events
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Starmer praises Edward Leigh for defending Palestinians’ right to their own state, saying he’s like ‘old Tory party’
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Starmer says, when media admitted to Gaza, he expects further debate about ‘full horror’ of what happened there
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Starmer criticises Badenoch for ignoring humanitarian crisis in Gaza in her response to his statement
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Badenoch accuses Starmer of lacking influence in Middle East peace process and antagonising Israel
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Starmer says two-state solution now has ‘first real chance’ of being implemented since 1990s
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‘None of this would have been possible without President Trump’, says Starmer of Middle East peace deal
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Government risks losing support over digital ID scheme, Labour MPs warn
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‘Not like other Liberals – he looked liked he could actually run the country’ – Tim Farron pays tribute to Campbell pays tribute to
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‘Good, decent, hopeful politics’ – Ed Davey pays tribute to Ming Campbell
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Farage welcomes five-year jail sentence for Afghan small boat migrant found guilty of threatening to kill him
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Starmer to make statement to MPs on Middle East peace summit
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Trans people at risk of exclusion from many UK public spaces, rights expert says
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Cyber security chiefs describe China as ‘threat actor’, but sidestep questions about wider risk and collapsed spy trial
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Human rights official urges UK to review laws after Palestine Action placard arrests
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Steve Reed says he was ‘horrified’ by women being excluded from Muslim charity run in London park
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76% of Labour members would back breaking manifesto promise on tax to raise cash for public services, poll suggests
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Parenting advice on social media is often poor quality, says Phillipson
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UK labour market shows signs of stabilising after job losses
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Green party reachest highest ever level in YouGov poll, at 13%
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Starmer to face MPs amid continued pressure over collapse of China spying trial
Some Labour MPs have criticised Kemi Badenoch for the tone of her reply to Keir Starmer.
Clive Efford said that she should remember that “not every statement in this house is an opportunity for political knockabout”.
And Melanie Ward made a point of praising the role in this process played by Jonathan Powell, the PM’s national security adviser. Badenoch has implied Powell should resign over the China spy case controversy. “Not for the first time, [Badenoch] has no idea what she is talking about, and her backbenchers know that as well,” Ward said.
Starmer praises Edward Leigh for defending Palestinians’ right to their own state, saying he’s like ‘old Tory party’
Edward Leigh, the Conservative father of the house, says he would like to hear the Commons united in saying they are “completely committed to creating a Palestinian state in the West Bank”. He says that is the “God-given right” of Palestinians.
Leigh is making a point about his own party, which opposed the government’s decision to recognise the state of Palestine and which only seems to show limited interest in the two-state solution.
Starmer welcomes Leigh’s comment, saying “that sounds like the old Tory party I used to know”.
Starmer says, when media admitted to Gaza, he expects further debate about ‘full horror’ of what happened there
Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, asks for more detail of what the UK is doing to help ensure more aid gets into Gaza.
He says all the bodies of dead hostages need to be returned.
And he asks what the UK is doing to ensure that the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements on the West Bank stops.
Starmer thanks Davey for the “content and tone” of his response. (He is making a contrast with Badenoch’s.)
On aid, he says there is a need for more trucks be admitted to Gaza.
On the bodies of hostages, Starmer says he agrees with Davey.
He says, when the media are finally admitted to Gaza, he thinks there will be ‘“quite some debate” in the Commons about “the full horror” of what happened.
And he says the UK has told Israel that illegal settlements should not be allowed on the West Bank.
Starmer criticises Badenoch for ignoring humanitarian crisis in Gaza in her response to his statement
Starmer is responding to Badenoch.
He says he was “surprised and saddened” that, in her response to his statement, she did not mention the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, including the number of people killed and the denial of aid.
UPDATE: Starmer said:
I was surprised and saddened that she spent more time attacking what we actually did to help the process than even mentioning the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, without setting out in terms the number of people that have been killed, that are starving, been subjected to denial of aid, when the immediate task for any serious government is to work with allies to get that aid in at speed.
I would have expected at least an acknowledgement of that terrible situation. It shows, yet again, just how far her party has slid from [a] serious statesperson approach to diplomacy.
This is not the time for a fight about the role which any individual played.
I am proud of what [US special envoy to the Middle East] Steve Witkoff said about our national security adviser [Jonathan Powell]. He was negotiating this, he knows absolutely the role we played, and this House should be proud that we played that role.
We played that role only because of the relationship that this Government has with the [Donald] Trump administration. We are a trusted partner, working both before this peace deal and afterwards.
Badenoch accuses Starmer of lacking influence in Middle East peace process and antagonising Israel
Kemi Badenoch is speaking now.
She claims the PM’s statement shows the UK was not at the heart of this process.
It is quite clear that UK relations with Israel have been strained by the actions of this government.
Their view, and they have stated publicly, is that it looks like, under pressure from his own back benches, the prime minister has taken the wrong decisions time and time again, diminishing our influence in the region.
Some Labour MPs shout “shame” at this point.
In particular, she criticises the UK’s decision to restore funding for Unwra, the UN aid agency condemned by Israel for its alleged Hamas links, and for the decision to recognise a Palestinian state.
And she quotes Mike Huckabee, the US ambassador to Israel, yesterday saying UK government claims it played an important role behind the scenes were “delusional”.
Starmer says two-state solution now has ‘first real chance’ of being implemented since 1990s
Starmer says the decision of the UK to recognise Palestinian statehood, along with other countries, “helped lead to a historic New York Declaration where for the first time, the entire Arab League condemned the atrocities of October”.
He says, going ahead, the UK will offer expertise in three areas: supporting the reconstruction in Gaza, supporting transitional arrangements, and ensuring security for a ceasefire monitoring process.
And he says the two-state solution now has its best chance of being implemented since the Oslo Accords were signed in the 1990s.
This is the first real chance we’ve had on a two-state solution since the Oslo Accords over three decades ago. So we are fully committed to this because a safe and secure Israel, alongside a viable Palestinian state, is the only way to secure lasting peace for the Middle East.
‘None of this would have been possible without President Trump’, says Starmer of Middle East peace deal
Starmer is now talking about the Middle East.
Let me now turn to the Middle East and words I have longed to say in this house for a very long time – the surviving hostages are freed, the bombardment of Gaza has stopped and desperately needed aid is starting to enter as a result of the peace plan led by President Trump.
Starmer says the relief is tempered by concern for those who have died, and for the innocent civilians killed. “This has been two years of living hell,” he says.
He says the peace deal is historic. But “what matters now is implementation”, and this has to happen as quickly as possible.
He goes on:
Let no one be any doubt that none of this would have been possible without President Trump.
But Starmer also pays tribute to international allies, and he says the UK has “worked behind the scenes for months with the US , rab and European nations to help deliver a ceasefire, get the hostages out, get aid in and secure a better future for Israel”.
The Ming Campbell tributes are over, and Keir Starmer is speaking now.
Starmer starts by saying he wants to put on record his condemndation of the vile antisemitic terror attack at the Heaton Park synagogue in Manchester.
Echoing what Shabana Mahmood said yesterday, he says:
Antisemitism is not a new hatred here in Britain. Jews have had to deal with a shameful reality that their buildings, their way of life, that children need extra protection.
We must also be crystal clear that while this was an attack on Jews because they were Jews, the Islamist extremism that motivated this sick individual is a threat to every citizen of this country.
He says the same principle applied to the recent attack on the Peacehaven mosque. “An attack on British Muslim is an attack on us all.”
The events in Manchester are subject to an ongoing police investigation and we won’t be allowing comments relating directly to them BTL. If readers don’t comply with at, comments will get closed.
Government risks losing support over digital ID scheme, Labour MPs warn
A reader BTL has asked what happened during the statement on the digital ID scheme last night. It took place quite late, after the blog had closed. But this is what PA Media filed on it.
The government risks losing support over its proposals for digital IDs, Labour MPs have said, as they raised concerns about the impact on civil liberties and the cost.
Nadia Whittome, Richard Burgon, Charlotte Nichols and Stella Creasy all questioned how necessary the IDs were, and whether the Government could spend the money better.
Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said the digital IDs would only be mandatory for employers to see on right-to-work checks, as the government bids to clamp down on illegal working.
However, Kendall added that for those who wanted to, it could improve access to public services.
Meanwhile, individuals would not face sanctions, only employers, and the police would never demand to see the IDs, Kendall said.
She said the government had learned from countries such as Estonia and Denmark who had used the IDs already, and allowed people to “tell their story once” when dealing with public services.
A consultation will begin before the end of the year, MPs heard, as they were told any system would be built “in house”.
Kendall said: “When you look across other countries and what they’re doing, it really has made government fit around people, rather than make people fit into government and its different services, and I think that’s a huge benefit.”
However, Whittome (Nottingham East) warned the government risked “burning through political capital”.
She said: “I don’t know how many doors I’ve knocked on in my 12 years as a Labour member, but I do know that not a single person has ever told me that what they really need to improve their lives, their community, this country is mandatory digital ID.
“It won’t tackle irregular working, it undermines civil liberties, it’s divisive among the public and it won’t make a difference to people’s lives.
“So I ask the secretary of state, why are we doing it? Why are we burning political capital and public money on this, instead of focusing on the issues that are really are impacting our constituents.
“I worry that this is yet another huge mistake.”
Her party colleague Burgon (Leeds East) said: “Given the serious threats that digital ID poses to civil liberties, our data security and a risk of data being handed over to US tech giants, I’m firmly opposed to digital ID.
“However, isn’t it also a really big waste of money, and shouldn’t the Government be instead focusing on what is the number one priority for people across the country, which is tackling the cost-of-living crisis, and wouldn’t the money from this better be pushed into that, while safeguarding civil liberties?”
Nichols (Warrington North) said: “I’ve been contacted by a large volume of constituents in recent weeks whose healthy scepticism that digital ID will make a material difference in tackling illegal immigration, I share.”
Creasy said she had seen figures of it costing £1bn to £2bn to establish the scheme, then an ongoing £100m a year to run it.
She also said the cost of a data breach could amount to 1.1% of GDP.
Creasy said: “[Kendall] said this would be free. Ultimately, the taxpayer will have to pay for it.”
‘Not like other Liberals – he looked liked he could actually run the country’ – Tim Farron pays tribute to Campbell pays tribute to
Tim Farron, the former Lib Dem leader, is paying his tribute now. He recalls first being impressed by Ming Campbell in the 1980s, long before they met.
Ming Campbell struck me as not being like other Liberals. He looked like he could actually run the country.
Among the other MPs paying tribute to Ming Campbell where Labour’s John McDonnell and Edward Leigh, the Tory father of the house, who both joined Campbell in opposing the Iraq war.
McDonnell said:
For those of us who were here during the debate on the Iraq war on all sides, I want to thank him for the legal advice we provide us and the way that he addressed that debate, because he did so without seeking any party advantage. He simply set out a legal principles from which he was making the decision, and he did so with compassion.
And Leigh said that Campbell was perhaps “too nice” to succeed in politics. He went on:
The whole episode of the Iraq war was so difficult for us in this house, in particularly those of us who broke with our party to oppose the Iraq war. And he gave us the leadership. He gave us that rigor. And he’s been proved right on that. Of course, there are no prizes for being proved right, but history will prove him right.
‘Good, decent, hopeful politics’ – Ed Davey pays tribute to Ming Campbell
Here is an extract from Ed Davey’s tribute to Ming Campbell.
Ming was among those few MPs who was genuinely a grandee from the first day they were elected.
But his calmness, reasonableness and intense decency [hide a] most a radical politician, a man who never forgot his roots growing up in the Glasgow tenement and he was driven by deep commitment to social justice, a man who said he was his role and the role of the Liberal Democrats to rattle the cage of British politics …
I remember how difficult the decision it was for us to oppose [the Iraq war]. It felt like we were going not just against the government, but taking on the full might of the British state and the United States.
Ming tackled it with his typically steady forensic, lawyerly approach, and gave us both the confidence and resolve to speak up strongly for what we believed. He made our position firmly rooted in respect for international law, and because it was a time when the world was in turmoil following those horrific terrorist attacks of September 11th, Ming provided principled leadership with his trademark combination of morality, courage and wisdom …
It was once said of me that [Campbell] runs the risk of giving politicians a good name. Well, he certainly did that. His passing is a moment for us to consider how we are all viewed as politicians, what changes we could make both individually and collectively, to further the cause of good, decent, hopeful politics something that Ming embodied entirely.
Farage welcomes five-year jail sentence for Afghan small boat migrant found guilty of threatening to kill him
Fayaz Khan, an Afghan who arrived in the UK on a small boat, has been jailed for five years for threatening to kill Nigel Farage.
Commenting on the sentence outside the court, Farage said:
Well, I suppose we call that a win.
It was about the maximum sentence that could possibly be given, five years, given the scale of the offence. And I thank Justice Steyn. I thank the judge for saying what she said.
But the fact is that in 18 months time this violent criminal, somebody with 17 convictions in Sweden, in 18 months time he will be in this country, living in a house of multiple occupancy or a hotel, free to walk the streets whilst his asylum claim is judged.
But Farage also claimed that the case highlighted a wider threat.
The only reason we know about this guy is because somebody sent [the video containing the death threat] to me on TikTok. It makes me wonder, how many other ‘Madapasas’ are there now in this country, or will there be, as the boats continue to cross the Channel.
And he suggested the hearing had highlighted the case for small boat arrivals being sent back to countries like Afghanistan (which is Reform UK policy). He said:
A strange twist at the end when, after the sentence, [Khan] was speaking from the dock trying to be heard, making it perfectly clear that he’d rather go back to Afghanistan.
In Germany, there are planeloads of people going back to Afghanistan – I wonder if in 18 months’ time, the only thing that stops him from being on our streets is if we have some kind of deal with Afghanistan.
I doubt it, but at least it’s a possibility, and the Germans have shown us what they can do.
Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, is now paying his tribute to Ming Campbell.
Keir Starmer is about to make his statement.
But, before he does, Lindsay Hoyle, the Speaker, pays tribue to Menzies (“Ming”) Campbell, the former Lib Dem leader who died during the recess.
Starmer to make statement to MPs on Middle East peace summit
Keir Starmer will shortly make his statement to MPs about the Middle East.
Here is the news release that Downing Street released yesterday about the peace summit co-chaired by Donald Trump in Egypt.
Here is Kiran Stacey’s analysis of the role that the UK played in getting a ceasefire deal (or, to put it another way, who was right – Steve Witkoff or Mike Huckabee?)
And here a clip of Starmer getting short shrift from Donald Trump at the summit yesterday.
WATCH: Trump asked, “Where is the UK?”
Starmer raised his hand. Trump called him to the stage, making him think he was going to speak.
Starmer approached the podium. “It’s nice that you’re here,” Trump said, then sent him back, offending Starmer. pic.twitter.com/Y67s4JGmEM
— Clash Report (@clashreport) October 13, 2025
Trans people at risk of exclusion from many UK public spaces, rights expert says
Transgender people risk being excluded from many public spaces as a result of the recent UK supreme court judgment and must be protected from discrimination, a human rights expert has said. Haroon Siddique has the story.
Cyber security chiefs describe China as ‘threat actor’, but sidestep questions about wider risk and collapsed spy trial
Dan Sabbagh
Dan Sabbagh is the Guardian’s defence and security editor.
China “continues to be a highly sophisticated and capable threat actor, targeting a wide range of sectors and institutions across the globe, including the UK,” the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre warned in its annual review published overnight.
However, in a press conference this morning, NCSC chiefs declined to go further and describe Beijing as “a current threat to national security” – the phrase sought unsuccessfully by the Crown Prosecution Service, so leading to the collapse of the trial of two men accused of spying for China.
Though Richard Horne, the chief executive of NCSC, which is part of GCHQ, acknowledged that when it comes to the cyber threat from China “the volume is rising” as it is in “all different categories of incident”, he would not be drawn any further when asked explicitly about the overall threat level from Beijing.
Using carefully chosen language Horne responded:
We have to be clear on the cyber threat that we see, and how that’s categorised in a larger threat picture is not for us to say.
Dan Jarvis, the security minister, was also at the same event, but after making a short speech that did not refer to China or any other country left without taking questions. Last night Jarvis told MPs that “every effort” had been made to support the now failed prosecution.
