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A mosque in South Wales that hosted Sir Keir Starmer has apologised for the “hurt and confusion” caused by the visit after a backlash from some within the Muslim community.

The South Wales Islamic Centre issued a statement late on Tuesday evening in which it sought to “clarify our stance” following the Labour leader’s visit on Sunday.

It said subsequent social media posts by Sir Keir “gravely misrepresented our congregants and the nature of the visit” which it said “put the South Wales Islamic Centre and the wider Muslim community into disrepute”.

The statement has reignited tensions within the Labour Party over its stance on Gaza, with one source telling Sky News there had been a “pattern of behaviour” that had been “deeply insensitive” to the Muslim community and left some MPs and staff “in tears”.

Sky News understands that there will be a meeting tomorrow in which Sir Keir and his deputy Angela Rayner will meet Muslim MPs to address the ongoing situation.

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The Labour leader made the visit to the mosque against the backdrop of criticism from within his own party at the position he had taken towards Israel’s bombardment of Gaza in the aftermath of the Hamas terror attack on 7 October.

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In the immediate days after the Hamas incursion, Sir Keir gave an interview with LBC in which he appeared to suggest that the Israel’s decision to withhold water and power from Gaza was proportionate and justified.

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‘Crisis getting deeper and deeper’

In the widely shared clip, the Labour leader was asked what a “proportionate” response would look like, to which Sir Keir replied that responsibility “lies with Hamas” and that Israel “has the right to defend herself”.

Presenter Nick Ferrari interjected: “A siege is appropriate? Cutting off power, cutting off water?”

The Labour leader replied: “I think that Israel does have that right. It is an ongoing situation.”

He added: “Obviously everything should be done within international law, but I don’t want to step away from the core principles that Israel has a right to defend herself and Hamas bears responsibility for the terrorist acts.”

The comments prompted 23 Labour councillors to resign in protest.

The Labour leader then sought to clarify his remarks, saying that while he believed Israel had a “right to self-defence”, that did not mean it should withhold humanitarian aid to Gaza, which is home to 2.2 million civilians.

In the statement, the mosque’s representatives said they “fully understand and share the anger many in the Muslim community are feeling, both here in Wales and across the UK” and added: “We apologise for the hurt and confusion that our hosting of this visit has caused.

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IDF ‘ready to go in if they have to’

“Our strength is in our unity, and we are aware that this visit has weakened and undermined that unity.”

They said the Labour leader visited the mosque at “short notice” but there was a a “robust and frank conversation which reflected the sentiments Muslim communities are feeling at this time”.

“Members of the community directly challenged Keir on his statements made on the Israeli government’s right to cut food, electricity and water to Gaza, warranting war crimes as well as his failure to call for an immediate ceasefire.”

The statement came after Sir Keir posted a tweet from the visit, in which he said he had “repeated our calls for all hostages to be released, more humanitarian aid to enter Gaza, for the water and power to be switched back on, and a renewed focus on the two state solution”.

Sources questioned the Labour leader’s decision to mention hostages at the mosque, with one saying: “People have been killed and we are calling for hostages to be released. They are nothing to do with it.

“Our policy seems to be to alienate the Muslim community.”

A Labour MP also told Sky News: “Wouldn’t it have been better to say you spoke with congregants and acknowledged the grief and fear many had, stood with them against rising islamophobia and gave a commitment that we would not stand for the situation in Israel and Gaza being used to divide communities here?

“I think he just needs some lessons in less robotic and awkward comms from Sadiq, Burnham and Sarwar, who seem to do better in empathy and capturing the mood better.

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“You don’t need to get all the lines out in every tweet. How was that centre going to help release hostages? It was a pointless and irrelevant thing to add.”

The MP called on the Labour leader to apologise for the initial LBC interview as well as backing a ceasefire or “humanitarian pause”.

A number of Labour MPs have begun making calls for a ceasefire or humanitarian pause, including chair of the International Development Committee Sarah Champion, Walthamstow MP Stella Creasy, and former shadow cabinet minister Rosena Allin-Khan.

The United Nations, the Palestinians and many other countries made the request at a high-level UN meeting today, but Israel’s foreign minister said it was the country’s “right to destroy Hamas”.

However, the government and the Labour Party have not yet called for a ceasefire.

The Labour Party has been approached for comment.

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Chancellor Rachel Reeves considering ‘changes’ to ISAs – and says there’s too much focus on ‘risk’ in investing

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Chancellor Rachel Reeves considering 'changes' to ISAs - and says there's too much focus on 'risk' in investing

The chancellor has confirmed she is considering “changes” to ISAs – and said there has been too much focus on “risk” in members of the public investing.

In her second annual Mansion House speech to the financial sector, Rachel Reeves said she recognised “differing views” over the popular tax-free savings accounts, in which savers can currently put up to £20,000 a year.

She was reportedly considering reducing the threshold to as low as £4,000 a year, in a bid to encourage people to put money into stocks and shares instead and boost the economy.

However the chancellor has shelved any immediate planned changes after fierce backlash from building societies and consumer groups.

In her speech to key industry figures on Tuesday evening, Ms Reeves said: “I will continue to consider further changes to ISAs, engaging widely over the coming months and recognising that despite the differing views on the right approach, we are united in wanting better outcomes for both savers and for the UK economy.”

She added: “For too long, we have presented investment in too negative a light, quick to warn people of the risks, without giving proper weight to the benefits.”

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Rachel Reeves’s fiscal dilemma

Ms Reeves’s speech, the first major one since the welfare bill climbdown two weeks ago, appeared to encourage regulators to focus less on risks and more on the benefits of investing in things like the stock market and government bonds (loans issued by states to raise funds with an interest rate paid in return).

She welcomed action by the financial regulator to review risk warning rules and the campaign to promote retail investment, which the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is launching next year.

“Our tangled system of financial advice and guidance has meant that people cannot get the right support to make decisions for themselves”, Ms Reeves told the event in London.

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Last year, Ms Reeves said post-financial crash regulation had “gone too far” and set a course for cutting red tape.

On Tuesday, she said she would announce a package of City changes, including a new competitive framework for a part of the insurance industry and a regulatory regime for asset management.

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Reeves is ‘totally’ up for the job

In response to Ms Reeves’s address, shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride said: “Rachel Reeves should have used her speech this evening to rule out massive tax rises on businesses and working people. The fact that she didn’t should send a shiver down the spine of taxpayers across the country.”

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The governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey, also spoke at the Mansion House event and said Donald Trump’s taxes on US imports would slow the economy and trade imbalances should be addressed.

“Increasing tariffs creates the risk of fragmenting the world economy, and thereby reducing activity”, he said.

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Crypto-backed group gathers $141M funding to influence US elections

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Crypto-backed group gathers 1M funding to influence US elections

Crypto-backed group gathers 1M funding to influence US elections

Fairshake reported raising $52 billion from the crypto industry in the first half of 2025, at a time when candidates previously supported by the PAC were providing crucial votes.

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Programmable regulation is the missing key to DeFi’s legal future

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Programmable regulation is the missing key to DeFi’s legal future

Programmable regulation is the missing key to DeFi’s legal future

Programmable regulation could be the solution to legacy regulatory frameworks struggling to keep pace with DeFi’s rapidly evolving ecosystems. Embedding compliance in code can bring legal clarity, reduce risk and foster innovation in DeFi.

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