Summary
Here’s a roundup of the key developments from the day:
Keir Starmer is under growing pressure to call for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas as two of Labour’s most senior Muslim politicians said doing so was the best way to prevent further unnecessary deaths. Anas Sarwar, the leader of Scottish Labour, said there should be an “immediate cessation of violence” with conditions attached. It came hours after Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, said a ceasefire was vital to avoid a “substantial military escalation”. The Greater Manchester mayor, Andy Burnham, has also called for a ceasefire.
The Labour party “understand why people want to call for a ceasefire”, a spokesperson has said, as Keir Starmer faces renewed calls to strengthen his position. Hundreds of Labour councillors and nearly a quarter of MPs, including two on the party’s frontbench, have called for a ceasefire.
Boris Johnson has announced he is joining the broadcaster GB News. The former prime minister is the latest Conservative politician to take up a presenting role on the news channel. “I’m going to be giving this remarkable, new TV channel my unvarnished views,” he said in the announcement.
Gillian Keegan said there is no “cultural issue” among Conservative MPs after a series of scandals and allegations of sexual misconduct. When asked about the arrest of Crispin Blunt this week, the education secretary said Rishi Sunak has been “clear about high standards” and “always follows due process”.
“Disgusting and misogynistic” WhatsApp messages between Boris Johnson and Dominic Cummings have been disclosed to the Covid inquiry, according to the former Conservative chancellor George Osborne. Cummings, Johnson’s chief adviser when Covid struck, is due to appear before the inquiry for the first time next Tuesday.
NatWest’s decision to close Nigel Farage’s bank accounts was lawful but there were “serious failings” in how it treated the former Ukip leader, an independent review commissioned by the bank has found. Lawyers hired by NatWest Group said the lender had acted “in accordance with the relevant bank policies and processes” when it decided to shut the accounts Farage held at its private bank Coutts.
Gillian Keegan defended the government’s decision to invite China to next week’s artificial intelligence safety summit at Bletchley Park. On Thursday, Liz Truss wrote to the prime minister to say she was “deeply disturbed” that China has been invited. Keegan told LBC that China is one of the world leaders in AI and it was important to work with “everyone who’s got some knowledge” to understand the security threats the new technology poses.
MPs in areas of England worst hit by Storm Babet have called for a review of Environment Agency failings after reporting that some residents received flood alerts only after their homes were flooded. Toby Perkins, the Labour MP for Chesterfield, said people felt “angry and let down” about the level of warning they were given.
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Our blog on the Israel-Hamas war is still live:
Updated
More than a third of politicians in the Welsh parliament have called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
Politicians from all of its political parties have supported the ceasefire calls.
Plaid Cymru’s group has backed a motion criticising “the Israeli government’s indiscriminate attacks”. Meanwhile, eight Labour and three Conservative members of the Senedd (MSs) called for “an end to the siege”.
In total, 24 of the Senedd’s 60 politicians have so far called for a ceasefire.
A statement of opinion signed by 20 MSs condemned “the attacks on Israeli citizens and taking of hostages” and “expressed grave concern at the continuing tragedy in Israel and Gaza”.
The statement calls for an “end to the siege to allow vital supplies into the area in the volume required, immediate ceasefire and release of hostages”, and urges the international community “to renew commitment and action to achieve a two-state solution and lasting peace”.
Updated
