STORY
Emily Thornberry has accused the Government of failing the Palestinian people, in one of the strongest criticisms yet from a senior Labour MP of the administration’s Middle East policy. Thornberry, who chairs the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, said the UK had recognised Palestine as a state but had not followed that decision with sufficient practical action.
Speaking at a Westminster event, Thornberry argued that the Government should respond more firmly to Israeli actions in Gaza and the West Bank. She called for measures including sanctions linked to settlement activity, restrictions on goods from illegal settlements and a stronger economic response designed to make settlement expansion untenable.
Her intervention is politically significant because foreign policy has not been the central issue in Labour’s internal arguments over Starmer’s leadership. It nevertheless adds to pressure on the Government from within its own ranks and is likely to be watched closely by MPs and campaigners who want the UK to take a more assertive position on international law and the future of a two-state solution.