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Rishi Sunak is under pressure to back an immediate ceasefire in Gaza after 10 senior Conservative MPs accused Israel of carrying out the “brutalisation of the civilian Palestinian population” – which they argue risks fuelling more extremism in the region.

The MPs, including former cabinet ministers, have written to Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron to argue that the case for an immediate ceasefire is now “unanswerable”.

It comes before the prime minister is due to face questioning from MPs on the Liaison Committee on Tuesday, in which the war between Hamas and Israel is likely to feature prominently.

In the letter signed by 10 Tory MPs – including former education secretary Kit Malthouse and former environment secretary George Eustice – the group said Israel’s actions appeared to be neither “proportionate or targeted”, with “many thousands of civilians dead and injured, and close to two million forcibly displaced”.

“Thousands of bodies must surely still lie under the rubble,” they continued.

“In particular, the number of women and children who have been killed is profoundly shocking. As you have said yourself, too many Palestinians have died.”

Politics latest: Tory MPs sign letter calling for immediate ceasefire

Their intervention comes as Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration faces mounting international criticism over the scale of civilian casualties.

The conflict in Gaza, triggered by Hamas’s attack on 7 October which saw 1,200 people killed and 240 more taken hostage, has flattened much of northern Gaza and has driven 85% of the territory’s population of 2.3 million from their homes.

Meanwhile, aid groups have warned of a spiralling humanitarian crisis as the bombardment continues.

Last weekend, the United Nations General Assembly held a vote in which 153 out of 193 members supported a ceasefire in Gaza. The US voted against the move, while the UK abstained.

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10 Tory MPs call for Gaza ceasefire

On Sunday Lord Cameron called for a “sustainable ceasefire” in the escalating conflict in a move that added to growing global pressure on Israel.

The foreign secretary said “too many civilians have been killed” and urged Israel to do more to “discriminate sufficiently between terrorists and civilians, ensuring its campaign targets Hamas leaders and operatives”.

His language strongly echoed that of US President Joe Biden, who described Israel’s bombing in Gaza following the Hamas terrorist attack on 7 October as “indiscriminate”.

However, Lord Cameron stopped short of calling for an immediate ceasefire, something that has been a recurring demand by pro-Palestinian campaigners as the death count in Gaza continues to grow.

MPs ‘dismayed’ by UK’s UN stance

The Tory group of MPs who wrote to Mr Sunak said they were “dismayed” that the UK abstained on the UN resolution calling for a ceasefire in Israel and Gaza when allies including France, Canada and Australia supported it.

Paul Bristow, the Tory MP for Peterborough who was sacked from his government post in October for calling for a ceasefire and who signed the letter, told Sky News’s Politics Hub with Sophy Ridge that on top of the 10 MPs who had written to Lord Cameron, there were “many more behind the scenes” who wanted the UK to push for that outcome.

The letter followed an article from former defence secretary Ben Wallace who warned at the weekend that Israel risked losing its “legal” and “moral” authority if it continued with its “killing rage” in Gaza as he appealed to all sides to pursue a two-state solution.

Asked about Mr Wallace’s article during a trip to Scotland, Rishi Sunak said that while Israel “obviously has a right to defend itself against what was an appalling terrorist attack perpetrated by Hamas… it must do that in accordance with humanitarian law”.

“It’s clear that too many civilian lives have been lost and nobody wants to see this conflict go on a day longer than it has to,” the prime minister added.

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‘Too many civilian lives lost’ in Gaza

Elsewhere in the letter to the foreign secretary, the 10 Conservative MPs went on to warn that the risk of disease and starvation was “imminent” as the Palestinian population is “kettled into ever smaller areas”.

“By any measure we are witnessing a catastrophe of precisely the kind the 1949 Geneva Conventions were supposed to prevent. As such, it is unconscionable that we should make Gaza an exception to the rules and obligations those accords created,” the letter by the MPs said.

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The MPs added they had all “privately expressed our anguish and dismay at the position taken by His Majesty’s government following the terrible atrocities of 7 October”.

“We said we did not believe it was in the United Kingdom’s or Israel’s best long-term interests for them to flatten Gaza and massacre innocent Palestinians in pursuit of Hamas, nor that there was a viable military solution to dealing with such a terrorist organisation and to securing the urgent return of Israeli hostages,” they wrote.

The letter added: “On the contrary, the brutalisation of the civilian Palestinian population is sure to lead to more extremism in the future.

“Furthermore, it is increasingly clear that the Israeli military strategy is neither proportionate nor targeted and that there is no serious prospect of success, whatever that might mean.”

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Fourteen children arrested on suspicion of manslaughter over Gateshead fire released on bail

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Fourteen children arrested on suspicion of manslaughter over Gateshead fire released on bail

All 14 children arrested on suspicion of manslaughter after a boy died in a fire have been released on police bail, officers said.

Layton Carr, 14, was found dead near the site of a fire at Fairfield industrial park in the Bill Quay area of Gateshead on Friday.

Northumbria Police said on Saturday that they had arrested 11 boys and three girls in connection with the incident.

In an update on Sunday, a Northumbria Police spokesman said: “All those arrested have since been released on police bail pending further inquiries.”

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Teenager dies in industrial estate fire

Firefighters raced to the industrial site shortly after 8pm on Friday, putting out the blaze a short time later.

Police then issued an appeal for Carr, who was believed to be in the area at that time.

In a statement on Saturday, the force said that “sadly, following searches, a body believed to be that of 14-year-old Layton Carr was located deceased inside the building”.

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David Thompson, headteacher of Hebburn Comprehensive School, where Layton was a pupil, said the school community was “heartbroken”.

Mr Thompson described him as a “valued and much-loved member of Year 9” and said he would be “greatly missed by everyone”.

He added that the school’s “sincere condolences” were with Layton’s family and that the community would “rally together to support one another through this tragedy”.

A fundraising page on GoFundMe has been set up to help Layton’s mother pay for funeral costs.

Pic: Gofundme
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Pic: Gofundme

Organiser Stephanie Simpson said: “The last thing Georgia needs to stress trying to pay for a funeral for her Boy Any donations will help thank you.”

One tribute in a Facebook post read: “Can’t believe I’m writing this my nephew RIP Layton 💔 forever 14 you’ll be a massive miss, thinking of my sister and 2 beautiful nieces right now.”

Detective Chief Inspector Louise Jenkins, of Northumbria Police, also said: “This is an extremely tragic incident where a boy has sadly lost his life.”

She added that the force’s “thoughts are with Layton’s family as they begin to attempt to process the loss of their loved one”.

They are working to establish “the full circumstances surrounding the incident” and officers will be in the area to “offer reassurance to the public”, she added.

A cordon remains in place at the site while police carry out enquiries.

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Football bodies could be forced to pay towards brain injury care costs of ex-players

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Football bodies could be forced to pay towards brain injury care costs of ex-players

Football bodies could be forced to pay towards the care costs of ex-players who have been diagnosed with brain conditions, under proposals set to be considered by MPs.

Campaigners are drafting amendments to the Football Governance Bill, which would treat conditions caused by heading balls as an “industrial injuries issue”.

The proposals seek to require the football industry to provide the necessary financial support.

Campaigners say existing support is not fit for purpose, including the Brain Health Fund which was set up with an initial £1m by the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA), supported by the Premier League.

But the Premier League said the fund has supported 121 families with at-home adaptations and care home fees.

From England‘s 1966 World Cup-winning team, both Jack and Bobby Charlton died with dementia, as did Martin Peters, Ray Wilson and Nobby Stiles.

Neil Ruddock speaks to Sky's Rob Harris outside parliament
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Neil Ruddock speaks to Sky’s Rob Harris outside parliament

Ex-players, including former Liverpool defender Neil Ruddock, went to parliament last week to lobby MPs.

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Ruddock told Sky News he had joined campaigners “for the families who’ve gone through hell”.

“A professional footballer, greatest job in the world, but no one knew the dangers, and that’s scary,” he said.

“Every time someone heads a ball it’s got to be dangerous to you. You know, I used to head 100 balls a day in training. I didn’t realise that might affect my future.”

A study co-funded by the PFA and the Football Association (FA) in 2019 found footballers were three and a half times more likely to die of a neurodegenerative disease than members of the public of the same age.

‘In denial’

Among those calling on football authorities to contribute towards the care costs of ex-players who have gone on to develop conditions such as Alzheimer’s and dementia is Labour MP Chris Evans.

Mr Evans, who represents Caerphilly in South Wales, hopes to amend the Bill to establish a care and financial support scheme for ex-footballers and told a recent event in parliament that affected ex-players “deserve to be compensated”.

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, who helped to draft the amendment, said the game was “in denial about the whole thing”.

Mr Burnham called for it to be seen as “an industrial injuries issue in the same way with mining”.

In January, David Beckham lent his support to calls for greater support for footballers affected by dementia.

One of the amendments says that “the industry rather than the public should bear the financial burden”.

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A spokesperson for the FA said it was taking a “leading role in reviewing and improving the safety of our game” and that it had “already taken many proactive steps to review and address potential risk factors”.

An English Football League spokesperson said it was “working closely with other football bodies” to ensure both professional and grassroots football are “as safe as it can be”.

The PFA and Premier League declined to comment.

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Terror arrests came in context of raised warnings about Iran, with ongoing chaos in its own backyard

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Terror arrests came in context of raised warnings about Iran, with ongoing chaos in its own backyard

These are two separate and unrelated investigations by counter-terror officers.

But the common thread is nationality – seven out of the eight people arrested are Iranian.

And that comes in the context of increased warnings from government and the security services about Iranian activity on British soil.

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Counter terror officers raid property

Last year, the director general of MI5, Ken McCallum, said his organisation and police had responded to 20 Iran-backed plots presenting potentially lethal threats to British citizens and UK residents since January 2022.

He linked that increase to the ongoing situation in Iran’s own backyard.

“As events unfold in the Middle East, we will give our fullest attention to the risk of an increase in – or a broadening of – Iranian state aggression in the UK,” he said.

The implication is that even as Iran grapples with a rapidly changing situation in its own region, having seen its proxies, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza, decimated and itself coming under Israeli attack, it may seek avenues further abroad.

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The government reiterated this warning only a few weeks ago, with security minister Dan Jarvis addressing parliament.

“The threat from Iran sits in a wider context of the growing, diversifying and evolving threat that the UK faces from malign activity by a number of states,” Jarvis said.

“The threat from states has become increasingly interconnected in nature, blurring the lines between: domestic and international; online and offline; and states and their proxies.

“Turning specifically to Iran, the regime has become increasingly emboldened, asserting itself more aggressively to advance their objectives and undermine ours.”

Read more:
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As part of that address, Jarvis highlighted the National Security Act 2023, which “criminalises assisting a foreign intelligence service”, among other things.

So it was notable that this was the act used in one of this weekend’s investigations.

The suspects were detained under section 27 of the same act, which allows police to arrest those suspected of being “involved in foreign power threat activity”.

Those powers are apparently being put to use.

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