Summary
Here’s a roundup of the key developments form the day:
Keir Starmer has met Muslim Labour MPs as he attempted to see off a backlash over his position on Israel and Gaza. Labour sources described the meeting, which was attended by around a dozen MPs, including at least one frontbencher, as “constructive”.
More than 150 Muslim Labour councillors have urged Starmer and Angela Rayner to back an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza, with his comments also sparking resignations from councillors. In a letter, the councillors said the leadership had to work to end the “humanitarian disaster”.
Rishi Sunak has called for pauses to the fighting in Gaza to allow humanitarian aid to safely reach those without food, water or medicine. Though he expressly avoided backing the suggestion of a total ceasefire, the British prime minister said he recognised there needed to be a “safer environment” for aid agencies to help Palestinians.
During PMQs, Starmer said the prime minister had “crumbled to landlords on his own backbenches” and ditched the policy of banning no-fault evictions “despite his government’s pledge”. Referring to Andrew Cooper, the Conservative candidate for Tamworth, who said that people should “fuck off” if they were struggling with rising costs, Starmer said the British people wanted a chance to return the compliment to the government.
Sunak said that there was “still work to be done” as he marked his first anniversary in No 10, and appeared to signal plans for another 12 months in power. Downing Street also released a slickly produced video for the occasion, which appeared to indicate that Sunak is in no hurry to call a general election.
A spokesperson for Lindsay Hoyle said the Commons speaker was seeking procedural advice amid contempt of parliament concerns over a BBC interview with the alleged complainant of Peter Bone.
Starmer has been accused of having “gravely misrepresented” a meeting with Muslim leaders in Wales, amid anger among some in Labour over his remarks on the Israel-Hamas conflict. The leaders said they directly challenged the Labour leader on his statements about the Israeli government’s right to cut food, electricity and water to Gaza and his failure to call for an immediate ceasefire.
Sunak has rejected comments by the UN secretary general, António Guterres, on the Hamas attack on Israel, amid a diplomatic storm about the remarks. The prime minister is not, however, calling on the UN chief to resign, as called for by Israel’s UN ambassador, Gilad Erdan.
The immigration minister, Robert Jenrick, appeared to suggest that he thought UK visa-holders should be expelled for inciting antisemitism even if their conduct fell “below the criminal standard”. It comes after he told the Commons on Tuesday that the process of revoking visas and expelling foreign nationals who spread “hate and division” had already begun “in a small number of cases”.
Mandating ethnicity pay gap reporting would be “absolutely wrong”, Kemi Badenoch has told the Commons. The equalities minister said ethnicity pay gaps could not be measured in the same way as gender pay gaps, but said guidance was available for those employers who wished to undertake the practice.
The former cabinet minister Brandon Lewis has taken a six-figure job advising a company part-owned by two Russian oligarchs under sanctions. Lewis, a former justice secretary and ex-chair of the Conservative party, was given approval to take up the position at LetterOne, which is 49% owned by Mikhail Fridman and Petr Aven.
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Our blog on the Israel-Hamas war is still live:
Updated
A spokesperson for Lindsay Hoyle said the Commons speaker was seeking procedural advice rather than legal advice amid contempt of parliament concerns over a BBC interview with the alleged complainant of Peter Bone.
Deputy speaker Roger Gale had told MPs that “legal advice is being sought” by Hoyle on the matter.
The speaker’s spokesperson said Hoyle should have said “procedural advice” and Hansard would be corrected to reflect this.
Updated
