Afternoon summary
At least 50 Labour MPs have called for the UK to halt arms sales to Israel, according to an analysis of their public statements by Momentum, the leftwing group. The Momentum co-chair, Kate Dove, said:
Israel’s murder of aid workers in Gaza represents one more war crime in a long list of atrocities. It is no wonder, then, that a majority of voters find it unconscionable that the UK continues to send weapons to Israel, a state on trial for genocide, or that 600 leading lawyers find it illegal.
Yet while the SNP and Lib Dems have called for a suspension of arms sales, the Labour Leadership has not. We must exert maximum pressure on Sunak and Cameron to finally do the right thing - that means Keir Starmer and David Lammy speaking up for an immediate suspension of arms sales to Israel.
Gove says he showed 'moral cowardice' by not being upfront with Cameron about role he might play in pro-Brexit campaign
Michael Gove, the levelling up secretary, has admitted that he showed “moral cowardice” in 2016 by not being upfront with David Cameron about how he might play a leading role in the pro-Brexit campaign.
The two men had been close friends before the campaign started, and Cameron felt betrayed because Gove told him that, although he would be supporting leave, he would not be playing a prominent role in the Vote Leave campaign.
Gove made the admission in an interview with the Political Currency podcast, hosted by George Osborne, the former chancellor, and Ed Balls, the former shadow chancellor.
According to a report in the Times, Osborne put it to Gove that he played down his intention to play a prominent role in the leave campaign when he told Cameron that he would not back remain. Asked if he deceived Cameron, Gove replied: “He certainly felt betrayed.”
Gove said that he had not intended at that point to play a prominent role in the leave campaign. But he got more involved than he expected, he said, partly because Dominic Cummings, the Vote Leave campaign director, told him that unless he agreed to do TV campaign events, he would be letting his colleagues down, and Nigel Farage would feature instead.
Gove went on:
I didn’t believe I deceived [Cameron], but as I mentioned, I do think that I could have been clearer earlier.
And I think that was an example of on the one hand, cowardice on my part, moral cowardice … on the other hand, a recognition that perhaps there’s this feeling in politics, perhaps something will turn up, perhaps this moment won’t come when we have to make that decision.
But I think David entirely fairly, should have expected me to have been more upfront earlier.
