David Cameron explains why he planned to sanction Israeli ministers – as Starmer considers move

Published

5 hours ago

October 16, 2024

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David Cameron has told Sky News he planned to sanction two Israeli ministers while in government but “ran out of time” – as Sir Keir Starmer said he was considering the move over their “abhorrent” comments.

In an interview with Kay Burley, the former foreign secretary called on Sir Keir to “find a way” to penalise Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich and national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

Mr Smotrich has been criticised for suggesting it might be “just and moral” to withhold food aid from Gaza, while Mr Ben-Gvir has backed the expansion of illegal settlements in the West Bank.

Politics latest: Sunak tries to wrong-foot Starmer

Lord Cameron said he had been looking at imposing the sanctions himself before the general election.

He told Sky News he believed the move to put pressure on Israel was a “better option” than a partial arms embargo, which Foreign Secretary David Lammy announced in September.

Lord Cameron said: “I was looking at the things we could do to say to the Israelis we back your right to self-defence… but at the same time, we do want you to try and obey… humanitarian law.

“And these two ministers are people who have tried, they’ve encouraged you, to stop aid getting into Gaza and encouraged the extreme settlers in the West Bank to carry out illegal acts.

“So it seemed to me it was worth looking at whether we could sanction these two individual ministers.”

Lord Cameron said he ultimately didn’t enact the measures because he was advised “that it was quite a political act in the wrong direction”, adding that “we sort of ran out of time”.

“I mention it because we now have 100 days of the new government, and it seems to me looking at that is actually a better option than what they’ve done in terms of the partial arms embargo on Israel, because we do back Israel’s right to self-defence,” he said.

You can watch Kay Burley’s full interview with David Cameron on Sky News from 6am on Thursday.

Sir Keir told MPs earlier on Wednesday that he was “looking at” the option of sanctioning the two Israeli ministers.

The PM said Mr Smotrich and Mr Ben-Gvir had made “abhorrent” comments about the situation in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

“The humanitarian situation in Gaza is dire,” he added.

“The death toll has passed 42,000 and access to basic services is becoming much harder.

“Israel must take all possible steps to avoid civilian casualties, to allow aid into Gaza in much greater volumes, and provide the UN humanitarian partners the ability to operate effectively.”

Reacting to the prime minister’s comments, Mr Ben-Gvir told Israeli media that “just as before the establishment of the Jewish state the British worked to make it impossible, now they continue to do so after its establishment in the midst of an existential war”.

He said “the days of the British Mandate” – which saw the UK govern what was then Mandatory Palestine – “are over”.

Mr Ben-Gvir added: “They do not scare me, and I will continue to act in accordance with the supreme national interests of the state of Israel only and for the people of the country.”

The UK government has announced a fresh wave of sanctions in response to violence by “extremist Israeli settlers” in the West Bank.

The measures target three outposts and four organisations that have supported and perpetrated “heinous abuses of human rights” against Palestinian communities in the occupied territory, Mr Lammy said.

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The UK has also called an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council as the humanitarian situation in northern Gaza deteriorates.

Mr Lammy said access to basic services is “worsening” and the UN has reported “barely any food has entered in the last two weeks”.

Politics

Cabinet ministers write to Starmer in urgent attempt to soften spending cuts in budget

Published

2 hours ago

October 16, 2024

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Cabinet ministers write to Starmer in urgent attempt to soften spending cuts in budget

Cabinet ministers are writing to the prime minister in an urgent attempt to soften some of the spending cuts being demanded ahead of the budget.

The main measures for the budget have to be decided by the end of Wednesday and sent to the Office for Budget Responsibility before the Treasury shuts up for the evening.

Sky News can confirm letters from cabinet ministers complaining about the budget have gone over the head of Chancellor Rachel Reeves to Sir Keir Starmer and Number 10.

Politics latest: Cabinet members deeply concerned over scale of cuts

Some of these letters are believed to have gone in over the last couple of days.

After today, only small changes can ordinarily be made to the budget, typically around involving items of tens or hundreds of millions rather than billions. The existence of the letters was first reported by Bloomberg.

Some cabinet ministers are deeply concerned about the scale of the cuts being demanded in some areas to fund pay rises and spending increases elsewhere.

It is understood that Number 10 has received complaints from four government departments: the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, the Department for Transport, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and the Ministry of Justice.

Not all of these complaints were made through the medium of a letter.

It is understood the call for an intervention by Number 10 has helped soften a small portion of the cuts for some cabinet ministers’ departments.

But largely the shape of the budget, which is for the most part wrapped up tonight, has remained unchanged – and so have the nerves about how it will land in two weeks.

At the weekend, Sky News revealed one cabinet minister said: “The briefing doesn’t match the reality. It’s pain this year, and pain next year. We’re simply going to be digging a hole which we end up filling in later in the year.”

Ms Reeves will loosen the borrowing rules in the budget in order to give herself more room for spending, along with raising up to £40bn in tax rises and welfare cuts in order to relieve pressure on budgets.

But the cost of significant public sector pay rises, which are still going to have to be found from within departmental budgets, mean cuts this year and next are still being demanded by the Treasury.

Some ministers believe the cuts are unsustainable, while some have pointed to the first round of spending reductions announced before the summer – including the winter fuel allowance changes – as evidence more input from Number 10 is needed ahead of the budget and spending review on 30 October.

One government source told Sky News: “The whole of Number 10 is focused on the budget at the moment and there isn’t much bandwidth for anything else.”

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Government figures insist that letters voicing concern are routinely sent at this point in a spending review process and that this is all normal.

Both Sir Keir and Ms Reeves are out of the country next week, the week before the budget. However, only smaller changes can typically be made after today to the shape of it.