Starmer writes to Labour councillors in attempt to quash concerns he’s too pro-Israel – as it happened

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer responding to a statement in the House of Commons about the Israel-Hamas war. Photograph: UK Parliament/Jessica Taylor/PA

5.52pm BST

Early evening summary

• Rishi Sunak has urged MPs not to rush to judgment over the blast at a hospital in Gaza, as he was repeatedly urged by the Labour leader, Keir Starmer, to remind Israel to respect international law.

• Keir Starmer has sought to allay the concerns of some Labour members that he has been too pro-Israel in response to the conflict triggered by the Hamas attack. In a letter to councillors, he has stressed his sympathy with the plight of the Palestinian people, his demand for Israel to act within international law at all times, and the importance of Gaza getting access to food, water, electricity and medicine. The letter does not contradict what Starmer was saying about the Israel-Hamas conflict last week, but the tone is more pro-Palestinian, and more internationalist, than what he was saying around the time of Labour conference, particularly in an LBC interview that triggered resignations. (See 2.38pm.)

• People are already handing in XL bully dogs, with some requesting that their pet be put down, after the announcement of an impending ban, MPs have been told.

• The British Museum was the “victim of an inside job” when approximately 2,000 artefacts were stolen from its collections, the chair of trustees, George Osborne, has said.

• Andrew Cooper, the Conservative candidate in tomorrow’s byelection in Tamworth, has has defended sharing a Facebook post telling jobless parents who cannot feed their children to “fuck off” if they still pay a £30 phone bill.

Keir Starmer in the Commons at PMQs. Photograph: Jessica Taylor/UK Parliament/AFP/Getty Images

Updated at 5.57pm BST

5.42pm BST

Momentum launches campaign to get Labour to call for ceasefire in Israel/Gaza

Momentum, the leftwing Labour group originally set up to promote Jeremy Corbyn and his policies, has launched a campaign to get the party to call for a ceasefire in Israel/Gaza. It has set up an online tool that enables people in a Labour constituency to see if their MP is calling for a ceasefire, and to lobby them to do so if they’re not. People without a Labour MP can use the tool to lobby Keir Starmer and David Lammy, the shadow foreign secretary.

A Commons early day motion saying the government should call for a ceasefire is now backed by 45 MPs from various parties. (See 4.12pm.)

Momentum also wants the Labour party to condemn the tactics being used by Israel. In a news relase, it has quoted approvingly a tweet from the leftwing Labour MP Zarah Sultana. She says:

Saying “Israel should follow international law” but refusing to condemn Israel for blatantly violating international law isn’t just hollow.

It’s an insult to the Palestinian people indiscriminately killed in Israel’s brutal bombardment of Gaza.

Saying "Israel should follow international law" but refusing to condemn Israel for blatantly violating international law isn't just hollow.

It's an insult to the Palestinian people indiscriminately killed in Israel's brutal bombardment of Gaza.

— Zarah Sultana MP (@zarahsultana) October 18, 2023

Sultana posted this on X today after Starmer and Lammy stressed Labour’s belief in the need for Israel to abide by international law in the Commons. (See 2.38pm.)