Afternoon summary
JD Vance, the US vice president, has said that he does not “know what it would mean” for the UK to recognise Palestinian statehood. He also said that President Trump would not be following Keir Starmer, who announced last week that the UK is on course to recognise the state of Palestine in September. Vance was speaking alongside David Lammy in a brief press conference at Chevening, the foreign secretary’s grace-and-favour residence, at the start of what is a mostly social visit. Vance, who is having a family holiday in England, admitted that the US and the UK have some “disagreements” over Gaza policy, but the two men were keen to stress the strength of the UK/US relationship, as well as their personal friendship.
Keir Starmer denounced the Israeli government’s decision to take over Gaza City, agreed overnight, saying it will “only bring more bloodshed”. The Liberal Democrats, the SNP and the Green party have also strongly criticised the Israeli move, and this afternoon the Greens have joined the SNP in demanding the recall of parliament to discuss the situation. The Green MP Ellie Chowns said:
We need to recall parliament immediately to hold the UK government to account, to urgently assess whether we are meeting our obligations under the Genocide Convention, and to enact immediate measures — including sanctions on the Israeli cabinet and suspension of all military cooperation and arms sales — to prevent further atrocities.
The Conservative party and Reform UK have not commented officially on the Israeli move. Instead, they have both been tweeting about migrants.
For a full list of all the stories covered on the blog today, do scroll through the list of key event headlines near the top of the blog.
Updated
Lammy says he's 'hugely concerned' about Israel's decision to take control of Gaza City
Vance said he was not taking any more questions, but a reporter asked Lammy if he thought his relationship with Vance might help the US and the UK agree a position on a ceasefire in Gaza.
Lammy said Keir Starmer discusses these issues with President Trump on a weekly basis. They all want a ceasefire, he said. And they all want the hostages out.
He went on:
We are hugely concerned by the humanitarian suffering that we’re seeing in Gaza … I am concerned about what is developing in Gaza at this time, and the recent decision by the [Israeli] cabinet. I’m hugely concerned, as I think a lot of Israeli people are, about the impact, particularly on the hostages, and we’ll be able to discuss these issues in the hours ahead.
And that was the end of the questions.
Lammy’s language was a lot weaker than what has been said by most British politicians commenting on the Netanyahu decision today, including Keir Starmer. (See 9.04am.)
