Sir Keir Starmer is under growing pressure to call for a ceasefire in Gaza after a string of senior Labour figures broke ranks to challenge his stance.
London mayor Sadiq Khan, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar and Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham are among those who want the Labour leadership to strengthen its position and back a full cessation of violence between Israel and Hamas.
Sir Keir is united with Rishi Sunak, the US, and most recently the EU in pushing for “humanitarian pauses” in the fighting, while supporting Israel’s right to defend itself against the militants who launched a wave of bloodshed in the country earlier this month, killing more than 1,400 people, according to authorities.
But the Labour leader has angered MPs for not going further, with dozens urging him to back a ceasefire to prevent the conflict from escalating.
On Friday Mr Khan, who became the first-ever Muslim mayor of London in 2016, said: “I join the international community in calling for a ceasefire. It would stop the killing and would allow vital aid supplies to reach those who need it in Gaza.
“It would also allow the international community more time to prevent a protracted conflict in the region and further devastating loss of life.”
Mr Khan said Israel did have the right to defend itself, but warned the “terrible situation in Gaza now looks set to deteriorate even further”.
“A widespread military escalation will only deepen the humanitarian disaster. It will increase human suffering on all sides. No nation, including Israel, has the right to break international law.”
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Scottish Labour leader Mr Sarwar, who in 2021 became the UK’s first Muslim to lead a political party, made the same demand with his own video just a few hours later.
He said there must be an “immediate cessation of violence, with an end of rocket fire into and out of Gaza”, so that aid can be delivered and hostages released.
“Let me be clear, that means a ceasefire right now,” he said.
Shortly afterwards Mr Burnham, deputy mayor Kate Green and the 10 leaders of Greater Manchester released a joint statement also calling for a ceasefire “amid the humanitarian disaster unfolding in Gaza”.
The group said they “condemn unreservedly” the Hamas attacks on 7 October and that Israel “has the right to take targeted action within international law to defend itself”.
But they added: “We also have profound concerns about the loss of thousands of innocent lives in Gaza, the displacement of many more and widespread suffering through the ongoing blockade of essential goods and services.
“It is vital that urgent support and humanitarian aid is allowed into the area.”
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Shadow environment secretary Steve Reed had earlier said he “empathises” with MPs angry about the party leadership’s stance on the crisis in Gaza, but stood by the position taken by Sir Keir.
The shadow frontbench member told Sky News that if the attack Israel suffered had happened in the UK: “Our state would have sought to defend ourselves to protect our citizens by dismantling the capability of a terrorist organisation that carried it out. That applies to Israel too, they have the right under international law to do that.”
Party sources also made clear Sir Keir was not about to strengthen his position.
Tensions have been growing not only over his resistance in calling for a ceasefire, but also over his previous remarks in which he appeared to suggest Israel had the right to cut off power and water in Gaza.
The comments, which he has since rowed back from, prompted resignations among Labour councillors and angered the party’s MPs, even those on the frontbenches as shadow ministers.
Sir Keir has been holding meetings within his party to soothe some of the anger, including in talks with Muslim Labour MPs in parliament on Wednesday. They urged him during the “firm” exchange to back a ceasefire, believing the British public support the move as well.
“Let me be clear: that means a ceasefire right now.”
Anas Sarwar is determined to offer no room for equivocation or confusion on his position on the question which has cut a bitter rift through the Labour party this week.
The Scottish Labour leader has chosen the words of his social media video carefully – insisting that while “throughout this conflict I have utterly condemned the actions of Hamas” there is “no justification for the collective punishment of the people of Gaza”.
He goes on to argue that withholding essential supplies to Palestinian civilians is a “breach” of international law and that a ceasefire is the only way to ensure humanitarian aid gets through.
His intervention follows a widespread mutiny from Labour councillors and growing discontent on the parliamentary benches on the issue – sparked originally by anger in response to Sir Keir Starmer’s interview with LBC in which he suggested Israel “does have that right” to cut off power and water from Gaza as part of its action to defend itself within the context of international law.
The party leadership has been fighting a rear-guard action to backtrack on the interview ever since, arguing Sir Keir has been misinterpreted and was inadvertently responding to a different question.
But the row is a symptom of a wider feeling of frustration that the party’s position on the conflict is out of step with the position of much of its membership in not doing enough to stand up for the rights of the people of Gaza – an anger which only grows as the casualties mount and the humanitarian situation becomes ever more desperate.
Anas Sarwar’s announcement comes just hours after a similar call from London’s mayor Sadiq Khan, who argues the situation in Gaza is deteriorating, military action appears imminent – and therefore the time to make the case for a ceasefire is now.
This afternoon Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, added his weight to the campaign too. Burnham’s never been afraid to speak his mind or diverge from the leader’s position, but he’s a powerful voice in the party.
Likewise Mr Khan is no stranger to taking an independent stance – as seen during this summer’s row over Ulez expansion – but Sarwar’s intervention is perhaps more striking.
He’s something of a rising star in the party thanks to Labour’s growing popularity in the Scottish polls, crowned by their stonking win over the SNP in the Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election.
The road to a majority Labour victory at the next general election has to run through Scotland; and while the recent collapse in SNP support is largely due to their own internal issues, Sarwar has successfully capitalised on that. His influence has grown as a result.
The SNP have been calling for a ceasefire for some time now – Humza Yousaf’s wife’s family of course among those trapped in Gaza.
Now Sarwar’s position is more closely aligned with that of the SNP than his own party leadership, which mirrors the government’s in calling for ‘humanitarian pauses’ to let aid in and civilians and hostages out without negating Israel’s right to take military action against Hamas.
For two of Labour’s most prominent Muslim voices to step beyond the party line in calling for a ceasefire piles the pressure on to Sir Keir Starmer.
The Labour leader has spent years stamping out antisemitism in the party and so far has been resolutely determined not to suggest any lessening in his unequivocal support for Israel as it responds to the atrocities perpetrated by Hamas.
But as the carnage in Gaza grows worse by the hour – how long can his position hold?
Ministers also resist ceasefire pressure
Government ministers are also resisting pressure to back calls for a ceasefire.
On Friday, dozens of children laid teddy bears outside the gates of the Foreign Office to put pressure on Downing Street to withdraw military support for Israel.
The demonstration was organised by a group of parents who said they felt compelled to act as they watched the scenes of destruction in the bombarded 25-mile territory. The Palestinian death toll in Israeli retaliatory strikes in Gaza has passed 7,000, according to the health ministry.
However, Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said on Friday morning that Downing Street did not want to “cross that line of telling Israel it has anything but the right to defend itself”.
“Hamas have created this situation and Hamas are now embedding themselves in the Palestinian population,” she told ITV’s Good Morning Britain.
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Image: Parents and children lay out cuddly toys across the entrance to the Foreign Office in London
Instead of a ceasefire, government ministers are calling for a break in the fighting – dubbing this a “humanitarian pause”- in order to get aid into Gaza and allow British citizens to escape.
Around 200 British nationals are thought to be trapped in the territory.
UK Border Force teams are set up in Egypt to help if the Rafah border crossing is opened up for people to leave.
The crossing into northeast Egypt is currently closed apart from for aid deliveries – with Cairo reportedly blaming Israeli bombings around the area for it not being open for foreign nationals to pass through.
Hong Kong’s Cyberport, a government-backed business hub focused on Web3, blockchain and artificial intelligence, is ramping up its investment in emerging technologies to position the city as a global tech leader.
On Feb. 27, Cyberport hosted the “AI Safety, Trust, and Responsibility” forum with international AI academic institutions to discuss AI governance, safety and responsible innovation initiatives.
Hong Kong Cyberport hosts AI summit. Source: Cyberport
A day prior, on Feb. 26, the Hong Kong government’s 2025–26 budget paid special attention to emerging technologies, aiming to “seize the critical opportunities presented by technological reform and artificial intelligence development.”
Hong Kong invests heavily in Web3 and AI via the Cyberport hub
The Chinese Special Administrative Region allocated 1 billion Hong Kong dollars ($125.5 million) to establish the Hong Kong AI Research and Development Institute, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po announced during the Hing Kong budget speech.
The institute is dedicated to “facilitating upstream R&D, transforming midstream and downstream R&D outcomes, and expanding application scenarios.”
To fuel the Web3, blockchain and AI innovation, Cyberport’s Artificial Intelligence Supercomputing Centre (AISC), which launched on Dec. 9, 2024, will grow to a computing power of 3,000 petaFLOPS and will be able to process 3,000 quadrillion floating-point operations per second.
Streamlining AI research and talent development
Additionally, one of the co-organizers of the AI forum, the World Digital Technology Academy (WDTA), also announced the establishment of the “WDTA Asia-Pacific Institute (preparatory)” at Cyberport.
Yale Li, the executive chairman of WDTA, highlighted the institute’s three core initiatives. These include building a “safety-native” technological framework, establishing a “human-oriented” value system and commitment to “responsible innovation.”
Cyberport has signed numerous Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with universities and institutions to help students with internship and employment opportunities. Lastly, the Hong Kong government allocated $3 billion Hong Kong dollars ($385.6 million) to Cyberport for the launch of a three-year AI Subsidy Scheme to support the innovations.
That’s how one senior government figure described their mood as the prime minister, his foreign secretary and the Number 10 team left the White House having cemented Sir Keir and President Trump’s personal relationship; secured a commitment to NATO; the prospect of a trade deal that could spare the UK from tariffs and the presidential nod on the Chagos deal.
That gives you a sense of just how much was at stake going into talks with a president that has heaped criticism on many old allies in recent weeks.
That the Starmer-Trump meeting went as well as it did is proof, say those around the prime minister, of how much legwork and meticulous planning has gone into pulling it off.
The work began in opposition with Keir Starmer calling President Trump after the assassination attempt, while his foreign secretary courted vice president JD Vance.
There was the dinner in Trump Tower in September and, ever since then a prime minister who has swerved any personal or public criticism of the president.
When the visit was confirmed, the Number 10 team war-gamed all the possibilities with the prime minister, I’m told, going through all the detail and planning with aides to “make the most of the visit”.
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They came out feeling that all the pieces fell into place with wins for the UK on trade and a “special” Keir Starmer coming through talks with President Trump that you could have a positive relationship with President Trump.
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3:39
‘I have a warm spot for the UK’
There were a few factors that helped the prime minister.
The first was the president’s genuine love for the UK and Sir Keir’s team’s understanding that President Trump is driven by personal relationships.
Get that right and much of the rest falls into place, say those who have seen him up close.
Sir Keir Starmer, the ponderous lawyer, has I’m told also built a genuinely warm relationship with President Trump: “They genuinely like each other and find each other easy to speak to,” is how one observer put it.
Then came the deployment of soft power.
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14:15
A panel of Sky reporters dissect the trans-Atlantic meeting.
I was in the Oval Office when the prime minister procured a personal letter from his jacket pocket from the King inviting President Trump for a second state visit.
Mr Trump was genuinely delighted as he read the letter, marvelled at King Charles’s signature and pointed out that this was the first time in history that anyone had been afforded such an “incredible” honour.
The prime minister also brought something to the table for a president that loves a deal.
The decision to lift defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 went down extremely well on Capitol Hill with Republicans and signalled to President Trump that the UK was an ally that had heeded his message on defence spending.
There were wins too.
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Keir Starmer’s deal to transfer sovereignty over the Chagos Islands, where the US has a critical military base, to Mauritius, was backed by President Trump, a hugely welcome moment for a PM who has been heavily criticised about the deal back home.
And when I asked the president about his sharp remarks on EU tariffs – he said the union had been constructed to “screw” the US on trade – he told me he’d been having problems with the EU bit was in a “very different place” with the UK.
“I have a great warm spot for your country,” President Trump told me before the talks.
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2:28
An ‘intense session’ but ‘pretty good outing’
Afterwards, he told reporters at the press conference in the East Wing of the White House that there was a “very good chance” of a trade deal in which tariffs were not necessary.
Of course, there is a long way to go, but against a backdrop of a president threatening tariffs on a number of countries, that was a big win for the PM.
But if going out of this short visit was a story of trade, going into it was a focus on security guarantees for Ukraine.
Sir Keir said securing a backstop for European peacekeepers in Ukraine is the only way to contain President Putin.
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5:22
‘What a beautiful accent’
On this, President Trump was rather more noncommittal, stressing that the priority was to do the deal first and that the mineral agreement he is poised to sign with President Zelenskyy on Friday should be deterrent enough.
On Sunday, the PM will host 18 leaders in London to discuss what to do next.
Ultimately, Europe will need to know that the US has its back on Ukraine – the PM didn’t come away from the Trump meeting assured of that yet.
Although, the message for more NATO investment was heard loud and clear again, with an expectation from the British camp that more commitment on defence spending from Europe will be required by President Trump as part of any backstop deal.
What is clear coming out of this meeting is that Sir Keir and the UK could genuinely become the bridge between the US and Europe as the deteriorating relationship between Brussels and Washington offers Sir Keir the opportunity to take the centre stage.
After a bumpy start to his premiership, the prime minister has found in his endeavour on Ukraine, a means to show leadership – and perhaps a way to win doubtful voters back around.
He has managed to find a way with President Trump. Sunday’s summit is his next test as he brings together President Zelenskyy with fellow European leaders to try to hammer out a plan to support any peace deal.
Arizona’s Senate has advanced a Bitcoin reserve bill, bringing it to second place behind Utah in a race between US states to get a crypto investment bill approved.
The Arizona Senate passed the Strategic Digital Assets Reserve bill (SB 1373) on its third reading on Feb. 27 with a vote of 17 for and 12 against. It now advances to the state’s House.
The bill, sponsored by Republican Senator Mark Finchem, would create a “Digital Assets Strategic Reserve Fund” administered by the state treasurer that would consist of money appropriated by the legislature and crypto seized by the state.
The treasurer can’t invest more than 10% of the total fund deposits in any fiscal year but may loan digital assets from the fund to generate returns if it doesn’t increase financial risks to the state.
“[Whether] you like it or not, legislation will happen at the federal level in this order: Stablecoins, Market Structure, and Strategic Bitcoin Reserve,” Satoshi Action Fund founder Dennis Porter said in a Feb. 28 X post.
Arizona moves up in the strategic reserve race. Source: Bitcoin Laws
Another Bitcoin reserve bill is also making its way through Arizona’s Senate. The Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act (SB 1025), co-sponsored by Republican Senator Wendy Rogers and Representative Jeff Weninger, also passed the Senate’s third reading on Feb. 27 with a vote of 17 for and 11 against.
The Rogers and Weninger-sponsored bill focuses on investment authority for public funds to invest in crypto assets, while the Finchem-sponsored bill establishes a specialized fund for seized digital assets and appropriated funds.
There are currently 18 US states that have crypto reserve bills pending Senate votes, while two — Arizona and Utah — are in the final stages of the approval process.
State crypto investment bills have been rejected in Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota and Pennsylvania.
Bitcoin reserve proposals are gaining support across the US thanks to President Donald Trump’s pro-crypto policies.
Bitcoin, meanwhile, has tanked 17% over the past seven days as it struggles to keep gains due to economic uncertainty over Trump’s sweeping incoming tariffs.