Sir Keir Starmer has condemned plans for pro-Palestine protests two years to the day since the October 7 attacks on Israel, labelling them “un-British”.

Writing in The Times, the prime minister said demonstrations set to take place at several universities today showed a lack of respect for others, claiming previous rallies had been used by some as a “despicable excuse to attack British Jews”.

Follow latest updates on the Israel-Hamas war

In a statement marking the second anniversary of the Hamas attack, when 1,200 people were killed and 251 others taken hostage, Sir Keir said the UK’s Jewish communities had “endured rising antisemitism” since then – including last week’s attack on a synagogue in Manchester, in which two worshippers were killed.

Adrian Daulby, 53, and Melvin Cravitz, 66, died in the attack at Heaton Park synagogue in Crumpsall on Thursday.

‘A stain on who we are’

Mr Daulby, a member of the congregation, was shot accidentally when police fired on attacker Jihad al Shamie.

The synagogue’s rabbi told Sky News it happened as Mr Daulby “was holding the doors to make sure everyone inside stayed safe”.

The family of Mr Cravitz – a worshipper at the synagogue who police originally stated was a security guard – said he would “do anything to help anyone”.

Sir Keir described the attack as “horrifying”, adding: “This is a stain on who we are, and this country will always stand tall and united against those who wish harm and hatred upon Jewish communities.”

Ministers had urged protesters to rethink attending a rally in support of the banned group Palestine Action over the weekend, given its proximity to the synagogue attack.

It went ahead, and nearly 500 people were arrested.

Police have since been given new powers to impose conditions upon repeat protests.

‘A living nightmare’

Of October 7, the prime minister said it was “the worst attack on the Jewish people since the Holocaust”.

“The brutal, cold-blooded torture and murder of Jews in their own homes.

“And the taking of hostages, including British citizens, some of whom remain in Gaza today.

“Since that awful day, so many have endured a living nightmare. When I spoke with some of the families of the British hostages, I promised them in person that we will not cease in our efforts to bring their loved ones home.”

PM welcomes Trump’s peace efforts

In his statement, Sir Keir also spoke about the government’s priorities in the Middle East, which he said included releasing the hostages, getting more aid into Gaza, and a ceasefire “that can lead to a lasting and just peace as a step towards a two-state solution”.

The government last month recognised Palestine as a state to “revive the hope of peace”.

Read more: What recognising Palestine actually means

He said he welcomed US efforts to mediate a deal between Israel and Hamas. Officials from both sides wrapped up initial talks at an Egyptian resort on Monday, regarding the terms proposed by Donald Trump last week.

Mr Trump’s 20-point peace plan includes the disarmament of Hamas, which would have no role in Gaza’s future governance. The US president would lead an interim administration with the help of Sir Tony Blair, among others.

He has demanded Israel stop bombing Gaza, though airstrikes have continued.

Israel’s war on Hamas has now killed more than 67,000 people in Gaza, most of them civilians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians or combatants.

Antisemitism ‘a terrible scourge’

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch also criticised pro-Palestine protests in a statement marking the October 7 anniversary, claiming some “turn into hate marches on our streets”.

She said the government’s decision to recognise a Palestinian state “has rewarded the terrorists that perpetrated the October 7 atrocities”.

“Appeasement does not work,” she said, adding: “There are still 48 hostages held captive in Gaza. They must come home now.”

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey described antisemitism as a “terrible scourge” and said: “We stand in solidarity with British Jews, the people of Israel and Jewish communities around the world against terrorism, and against antisemitism in all its forms.”

Of the peace talks, he added: “We desperately hope that they will finally see the hostages returned home to their families, a lasting bilateral ceasefire, Hamas out of power in Gaza for good – and set us on the path to a two-state solution that offers both Israelis and Palestinians the peace and security they deserve.”

The Metropolitan Police have arrested 46 people after disrupting a criminal network suspected of smuggling up to 40,000 stolen phones from the UK to China.

A months-long investigation began last December when a box on its way to Hong Kong was found at a warehouse near Heathrow Airport containing around 1,000 iPhones.

Officers discovered almost all of the phones had been stolen, the force said. It then launched Operation Echosteep, bringing in specialist detectives to track down the suspects.

They intercepted further shipments and used forensics to identify two men in their 30s, who were arrested on suspicion of handling stolen goods on 23 September. They have since been charged and remanded in custody.

A number of phones were found in the men’s car and around 2,000 more devices were found at properties linked to them, the Met Police said.

Detective Inspector Mark Gavin, the senior investigating officer for Operation Echosteep, said: “This group specifically targeted Apple products because of their profitability overseas.

“We discovered street thieves were being paid up to £300 per handset and uncovered evidence of devices being sold for up to $5,000 (£3,700) in China.”

Police call on phone manufacturers to do more

Commander Andrew Featherstone, the Met’s lead for tackling phone theft, has described the operation as “the largest crackdown on mobile phone theft and robbery in the UK”.

He continued: “We’ve shown how serious we are about tackling this issue, but we need more help from the industry.

“We’re calling on phone manufacturers such as Apple and Samsung to do more to support us and protect their customers – especially around phone security and re-use.”

A total of 46 people have been arrested during two weeks of what the force has described as “targeted and precise activity”.

These include the arrests of 11 people during an operation targeting gangs robbing courier vans delivering the new iPhone 17 and the arrest of two men in their 30s – on suspicion of money laundering and handling stolen goods – after officers recovered almost £40,000 in cash at a phone shop in north London.

Read more:
Police launch vape-spiking crackdown
‘Kardashian of Cheshire’ jailed

Another man was charged with handling stolen goods after being stopped with 10 suspected stolen phones at Heathrow Airport on 20 September.

Further enquiries revealed the man – who also had two iPads, two laptops and two Rolex watches – had travelled between London and Algeria more than 200 times in two years, the force said.

London mayor Sadiq Khan said it is “simply too easy and profitable” for criminals “making millions by repurposing stolen phones and selling them abroad”.

“I will continue to call on the mobile phone industry to go harder and faster in designing out this crime by making stolen devices unusable,” he said. “We need coordinated global action to shut down this trade and build a safer London for everyone.”

Author Dame Jilly Cooper has died, her publisher has said.

“It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Dame Jilly Cooper, DBE who died on Sunday morning, after a fall, at the age of 88,” a statement said.

The Queen paid tribute to Dame Jilly, calling her a “legend” who was a “wonderfully witty and compassionate friend”.

The best-selling author was renowned for her raunchy, so-called “bonkbuster” novels, which portrayed the scandals and sex lives of wealthy country social circles, including Rivals, Riders and Polo.

She was praised for her blend of risqué storylines and critique of Britain’s class system, personified by showjumping lothario Rupert Campbell-Black.

Her children Felix and Emily said: “Mum was the shining light in all of our lives. Her love for all of her family and friends knew no bounds.

“Her unexpected death has come as a complete shock.

“We are so proud of everything she achieved in her life and can’t begin to imagine life without her infectious smile and laughter all around us.”

Dame Jilly was propelled to commercial success in the 1980s, and sold 11 million copies of her books during her more than fifty-year career.

Last year, Rivals was adapted into a successful TV series, which she worked on as an executive producer.

Tributes to author who created ‘a whole new genre’

Dame Jilly was a long-standing friend of the Queen.

In a statement released by Buckingham Palace, she said: “I was so saddened to learn of Dame Jilly’s death last night.

“Very few writers get to be a legend in their own lifetime but Jilly was one, creating a whole new genre of literature and making it her own through a career that spanned over five decades.

“In person she was a wonderfully witty and compassionate friend to me and so many – and it was a particular pleasure to see her just a few weeks ago at my Queen’s Reading Room Festival where she was, as ever, a star of the show.

“I join my husband the King in sending our thoughts and sympathies to all her family.

“And may her hereafter be filled with impossibly handsome men and devoted dogs.”

The author’s many fans included former prime minister Rishi Sunak, who said the books offered “escapism”.

‘Dame Jilly defined culture’

Her agent Felicity Blunt said: “The privilege of my career has been working with a woman who has defined culture, writing and conversation since she was first published over fifty years ago.”

She added: “You wouldn’t expect books categorised as bonkbusters to have so emphatically stood the test of time, but Jilly wrote with acuity and insight about all things – class, sex, marriage, rivalry, grief and fertility.”

The executive producers of the Disney+ adaptation, Rivals, said they are “broken-hearted” and “her legacy will endure”.

Dominic Treadwell-Collins and Alex Lamb added: “Jilly was and always will be one of the world’s greatest storytellers, and it has been the most incredible honour to have been able to work with her to adapt her incredible novels for television.”

As tributes rolled in on Monday, TV presenter Kirsty Allsopp wrote on X: “I know 88 is a good age, but this is very sad news.

“A British institution, funny, enthusiastic and self-deprecating, we don’t see enough of it these days.”

Her publisher Bill Scott-Kerr said: “Jilly may have worn her influence lightly, but she was a true trailblazer.

“As a journalist she went where others feared to tread, and as a novelist she did likewise.

“With a winning combination of glorious storytelling, wicked social commentary and deft, lacerating characterisation, she dissected the behaviour, bad mostly, of the English upper middle classes with the sharpest of scalpels.”

The ‘unholy terror’

Born in Essex in 1937, Jilly Cooper came from a Yorkshire family known for newspaper publishing and politics.

Her writing career began in 1956 as a junior reporter on the Middlesex Independent, covering everything from parties to football.

She had said she was known as the “unholy terror” at school, and was sacked from 22 jobs before finding her way into book publishing.

Dame Jilly started writing stories for women’s magazines in 1968, and found her break in 1969 when The Sunday Times published a story on being an ”undomesticated” homemaker. It gave rise to a column that lasted over 13 years.

In 2019 she won the inaugural Comedy Women in Print lifetime achievement award, and in 2024 was made a dame for her services to literature and charity.