Since the horrific attacks last weekend we’ve heard the same headline message from both the government and Labour; that the UK stands with Israel, and it has the right to fight back.
Last night’s statements from the two leaders underscored the point. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: “To the people of Israel, I say Britain is with you.
“What took place was an act of pure evil and Israel has every right to defend itself.”
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17:21
Cleverly: ‘Incursion into Gaza is imminent’
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‘Were you afraid when you had to run for cover?’
There was no criticism of the Israeli response – his comments were very much couched in terms of “friends talking honestly to friends”- but Mr Cleverly repeatedly stressed the UK’s commitment to international law and called for restraint and discipline from the Israeli armed forces.
He argued that he and the government share the passion of those demonstrating in London for a better life for the Palestinian people, but made the point that it is in Israel’s interest to avoid civilian casualties, as he believes Hamas’s strategyis to escalate conflict in the area into a wider war between the Muslim world and everyone else.
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Pro-Palestinian protests take place in UK
And while the SNP’s Humza Yousaf has called for a ceasefire in Gaza in order to evacuate civilians and provide humanitarian assistance, both Labour and the Tories are clear in their assurance of Israel’s right to take on Hamas in Gaza.
While Mr Cleverly said the UK would never give carte blanche to any nation, he seemed to be reassured by the “regular commitments” he had received from the Israeli leadership that their operations would be in accordance with international law.
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Gaza: Rescuers pull bodies out of rubble
Neither the foreign secretary nor his Labour counterpart questioned Israel’s right to order the evacuation of 1.1 million people from northern Gaza, despite concern from the UN that this could lead to a humanitarian catastrophe and claims that “forced displacement” would be a breach of the Geneva Convention.
In a way what was most striking about this morning’s round of interviews was the close and almost unprecedented alignment of two men normally at opposite sides of the political spectrum.
The pair even hugged when they met outside the Sky studio this morning.
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James Cleverly and David Lammy embrace
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David Lammy refused to take up Trevor Phillips’ invitation to suggest that the UK government had been slow in terms of urging restraint on the Israelis, compared to the US and France, insisting he didn’t want to be critical of James Cleverly or depart from the cross-party consensus.
While Labour are under pressure from some in the party to speak up more on behalf of Palestinian civilians, Sir Keir Starmer is determined that no one should say anything that could jeopardise his commitment to “tear out antisemitism” from the party – his pledge on taking over the leadership from Jeremy Corbyn.
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1:42
‘It breaks my heart’: Madonna on Israel-Hamas war
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0:44
Explosion on key Gaza route as civilians flee
Any UK politicians commenting on the situation must strike a fine balance.
For now, both Labour and the Conservatives are in agreement about what that line is, but the question as the conflict in Gaza continues, is how long that position can hold.
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has said it will “pause” shipments to the US as the British car firm works to “address the new trading terms” of Donald Trump’s tariffs.
The US president has introduced a 25% levy on all foreign cars imported into the country, which came into force on Thursday.
JLR, one of the country’s biggest carmakers, exported about 38,000 cars to the US in the third quarter of 2024 – almost equal to the amount sold to the UK and the EU combined.
In a statement on Saturday, a spokesperson for the company behind the Jaguar, Land Rover and Range Rover brands said: “The USA is an important market for JLR’s luxury brands.
“As we work to address the new trading terms with our business partners, we are taking some short-term actions including a shipment pause in April, as we develop our mid- to longer-term plans.”
The company released a statement last week before Mr Trump announced a “baseline” 10% tariff on goods from around the world, which kicked in on Saturday morning, on what he called “liberation day”.
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JLR reassured customers its business was “resilient” and “accustomed to changing market conditions”.
“Our priorities now are delivering for our clients around the world and addressing these new US trading terms,” the firm said.
Trading across the world has been hit by Mr Trump’s tariff announcement at the White House on Wednesday.
All but one stock on the FTSE 100 fell on Friday – with Rolls-Royce, banks and miners among those to suffer the sharpest losses.
Cars are the top product exported from the UK to the US, with exports worth £8.3bn in the year to the end of September 2024, according to data from the Office for National Statistics.
For UK carmakers, the US is the second largest export market behind the European Union.
Industry groups have previously warned the tariffs will force firms to rethink where they trade, while a report by thinktank the Institute for Public Policy Research said more than 25,000 car manufacturing jobs in the UK could be at risk.
Two people have died following a fire at a caravan site near Skegness, Lincolnshire Police have said.
In a statement, officers said they were called at 3.53am on Saturday to a report of a blaze at Golden Beach Holiday Park in the village of Ingoldmells.
Fire and rescue crews attended the scene, and two people were found to have died.
They were reported to be a 10-year-old girl and a 48-year-old man.
The force said the victims’ next of kin have been informed and will be supported by specially trained officers.
Officers are trying to establish the exact cause of the blaze.
“We are at the very early stages of our investigation and as such we are keeping an open mind,” the force said.
A 15-year-old boy has died after “getting into difficulty” in a lake in southeast London, police say.
Officers and paramedics were called shortly after 3pm on Friday to Beckenham Place Park in Lewisham.
The Metropolitan Police said a boy “was recovered from the lake” at around 10.42pm the same day.
“He was taken to hospital where he was sadly pronounced dead. His death is being treated as unexpected but not believed to be suspicious,” according to the force.
The boy’s family has been told and are being supported by specialist officers.
The force originally said the child was 16 years old, but has since confirmed his age as 15.
In the earlier statement, officers said emergency services carried out a search and the park was evacuated.
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Image: Emergency teams were called to Beckenham Place Park on Friday afternoon
Beckenham Place Park, which borders the London borough of Bromley, covers around 240 acres, according to the park’s website.
The lake is described as 285 metres long, reaching depths of up to 3.5 metres.
It is designed as a swimming lake for open-water swimming and paddle boarding.
A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said on Friday: “We were called at 3.02pm this afternoon to reports of a person in the water.
“We sent resources to the scene, including an ambulance crew, an incident response officer and members of our hazardous area response team.”
Emergency teams have not explained how the boy entered the water, or whether he was accompanied by others.