
Starmer shares UK-led Gaza peace plans with Trump
The Prime Minister started work on a plan with France and Germany over the weekend after an emergency call with the two countries' leaders, Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz.
His official spokesman had said earlier that he planned to share details with key allies, including Arab states, in the coming days.
In a readout of his meeting with the US president, Downing Street said the two reiterated calls for an immediate ceasefire to pave the way for peace.
'The Prime Minister welcomed the President's efforts to secure this, and shared the plans he is working on with other European leaders to bring about a lasting peace,' a No 10 spokesperson said.
Sir Keir described the situation in Gaza as an 'absolute catastrophe' as he appeared alongside Mr Trump at his Turnberry golf course ahead of their talks.
The British public is 'revolted' at scenes of desperation in the Palestinian territory, he said.
As the pair faced the press, Mr Trump suggested the US would set up new food centres in Gaza without fences, after the current US-led arrangement had led to multiple killings of Palestinians.
'It's a humanitarian crisis, it's an absolute catastrophe,' the Prime Minister said of the situation in Gaza as he arrived in Ayrshire.
He added: 'Nobody wants to see that. I think people in Britain are revolted at seeing what they're seeing on their screens, so we've got to get to that ceasefire.'
Israel announced at the weekend that it would suspend fighting in three areas of Gaza for 10 hours a day and open secure routes for aid delivery, while the UK confirmed it was taking part in plans led by Jordan to airdrop aid into the territory.
Speaking at his Ayrshire golf course, Mr Trump said: 'We're going to set up food centres, and we're going to do it in conjunction with some very good people.'
He added: 'And other nations are joining us. I know your nation's joining us, and we have all of the European nations joining us, and others also called and they want to be helpful.
'So we're going to set up food centres where the people can walk in and no boundaries, we're not going to have fences.'
Other nations are 'going to have to step up' when it comes to helping people in Gaza, the US President added.
Hinting at sticking points in negotiations over a peace deal, Mr Trump said Palestinian militant group Hamas had become 'very difficult to deal with' in recent weeks, suggesting this was because they only held a small remaining number of Israeli hostages.
Sir Keir has likened the plan he is working on with France and Germany to the coalition of the willing, the international effort to support Ukraine towards a lasting peace.
The Prime Minister's official spokesman said the plan would build 'on the collaboration to date that paves the way to a long-term solution on security in the region'.
He will also convene the Cabinet this week to discuss the crisis in the Middle East.
There is no indication yet of which day this week the Cabinet meeting, which gathers together the Government's most senior ministers, will take place.
The Prime Minister is meanwhile facing calls from a growing number of MPs to recognise a Palestinian state immediately.
Palestinians have an 'inalienable right to statehood', and it is a 'question of when, not if' the UK will agree to recognition, No 10 said.
More than 250 cross-party MPs have now signed a letter calling for ministers to take the step, up from 221 on Friday.
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds earlier dismissed the idea that there is a split at the top of Government over when to recognise a Palestinian state.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting is among those to have signalled a desire for hastened action, calling for recognition 'while there's still a state of Palestine left to recognise', while Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood said the Government wants to recognise a Palestinian state 'in contribution to a peace process'.
Speaking to Good Morning Britain, Mr Reynolds said: 'There's no split. The whole of the Labour Party, every Labour MP, was elected on a manifesto of recognition of a Palestinian state, and we all want it to happen.
'It is a case of when, not if.'

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Independent
17 minutes ago
- The Independent
Trump on Hispanic farm workers: ‘They don't get a bad back, because if they get a bad back, they die'
Donald Trump has raised eyebrows with comments he made about farm laborers during a phone interview with CNBC. The President spoke on Tuesday, 5 August 2025, explaining his belief that deported immigrant farm employees are not easy to replace with native-born workers. Farmers have been left short of staff due to the Trump administration's ICE round-ups of undocumented migrants. Trump suggested people who live 'in the inner city' are 'not doing that [farm] work' but Hispanic migrants do it 'naturally'. He then launched into a story about a conversation he had once had with a farmer. Trump says he asked, "What happens if they get a bad back?" to which the farmer allegedly responded, "They don't get a bad back, sir, because if they get a bad back, they die".


The Independent
17 minutes ago
- The Independent
Hezbollah threatens to resume firing missiles at Israel if it intensifies operations in Lebanon
The leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah warned Tuesday that if Israel intensifies its military operations against his group, the Iran-backed armed faction will resume firing missiles toward Israel. Naim Kassem's comments came as Lebanon's Cabinet was meeting to discuss Hezbollah's disarmament. Beirut is under U.S. pressure to disarm the group that recently fought a 14-month war with Israel and was left gravely weakened, with many of its political and military leaders dead. Since the war ended in November with a U.S.-brokered ceasefire, Hezbollah officials have said the group will not discuss its disarmament until Israel withdraws from five hills it controls inside Lebanon and stops almost daily airstrikes that have killed or wounded hundreds of people, most of them Hezbollah members. Israel has accused Hezbollah of trying to rebuild its military capabilities. Israel's military has said the five locations in Lebanon provide vantage points or are located across from communities in northern Israel, where about 60,000 Israelis were displaced during the war. Since the ceasefire, Hezbollah has claimed responsibility for one attack on a disputed area along the border. In a televised speech Tuesday, Kassem said Hezbollah rejects any timetable to hand over its weapons. 'Israel's interest is not to widen the aggression because if they expand, the resistance will defend, the army will defend and the people will defend,' Kassem said. 'This defense will lead to the fall of missiles inside Israel.' Since the war ended, Hezbollah has withdrawn most of its fighters and weapons from the area along the border with Israel south of the Litani river. Last week, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun reiterated calls for Hezbollah to give up its weapons, angering the group's leadership. The ceasefire agreement left vague how Hezbollah's weapons and military facilities north of the Litani river should be treated, saying Lebanese authorities should dismantle unauthorized facilities starting with the area south of the river. Hezbollah maintains the deal only covers the area south of the Litani, while Israel and the U.S. say it mandates disarmament of the group throughout Lebanon. Kassem said Hezbollah rejects a government vote over its weapons, saying such a decision should be unanimously backed by all Lebanese. "No one can deprive Lebanon of its force to protect its sovereignty,' Kassem said. Hezbollah's weapons are a divisive issue among Lebanese, with some groups calling for its disarmament. The Israel-Hezbollah war started a day after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack against Israel from Gaza. It left more than 4,000 people dead and caused damage worth $11 billion.


The Independent
17 minutes ago
- The Independent
Britain urged to let hero Afghans bring their families to UK after major data leak put thousands at risk
The government has been urged to let hero Afghans granted sanctuary in Britain bring their loved ones to the UK after a major data breach put the lives of up to 100,000 people at risk from the Taliban. More than 50 refugee charities and lawyers have written to Yvette Cooper, urging her to make it easier for Afghans who were allowed to relocate to the UK due to British links to bring family members – many of whom are at risk of reprisals – with them. The pleas come after revelations of a 'catastrophic' data leak at the Ministry of Defence in February 2022, which involved the details of thousands of Afghans who said they were in danger from the Taliban and had applied for sanctuary in Britain being shared online. The dataset, inadvertently sent out by a member of the armed forces, included the personal details of applicants to the MoD's Arap resettlement scheme, which allows Afghans who supported British troops to seek sanctuary in the UK. The leak was covered up by a superinjunction, which was lifted in July after The Independent challenged the draconian legal order at the High Court. Ms Cooper has now been told the government 'has no time to waste' if it 'wants to prevent the worst possible consequences of the data leak becoming a dire reality'. Charity workers and solicitors, including from Asylum Aid and modern slavery charity Kalayaan, told Ms Cooper: 'The UK government has a moral responsibility to the Afghan people who continue to suffer, including now as a result of the data leak and have no choice but to seek safety elsewhere. 'The 2022 data breach directly exposed Afghans still in the country to a risk of reprisals they were not even aware of, and the High Court, in lifting the superinjunction, recognised that its imposition may have increased the risks these people face.' The letter continued: 'Poor decision-making could yet again have exposed Afghans to serious harm, with many of these people having clear UK family ties'. They added: 'It is essential that those who were resettled under Arap and ACRS are able to live in safety and are given a fair opportunity to reunite with their families.' Unlike asylum routes, Afghans using Arap cannot sponsor family members to come to the UK under refugee reunion rules. The same applies to those relocated under ACRS, designed to help those who supported British values, such as journalists or women's rights activists. However, some may be able to make a separate immigration application. But charities and rights groups say these family routes are very restrictive and can often involve 'extremely costly application fees and require copious, specific documentation'. Decision-makers often refuse these applications from Afghan families, leading to lengthy appeals. Lib Dem MP Wendy Chamberlain, chair of the all-parliamentary group for Afghan women, said: 'There is already anecdotal evidence of reprisals on family members by the Taliban - the Home Office has no time to waste if the government wants to prevent the worst possible consequences of the data leak becoming a dire reality. 'The Home Office desperately needs to take a pragmatic and compassionate approach to allowing Afghans resettled in the UK to be reunited safely with their families. It is clear that these schemes have been seriously mis-handled, culminating in the recent exposure of the 2022 data leak.' In one recent case highlighted by The Independent, a security guard who worked for the British embassy in Kabul for almost two decades has been unable to bring his two eldest sons to the UK. Hamidullah Fahim and his wife Zaghona were brought to Britain with two young children in December 2023, but he couldn't bring his two eldest sons, who are now in their 20s. He said that his family is struggling with being separated, saying: 'We want to do whatever we can to be reunited with them and to let the Home Office know of the injustice that has been carried out in our case'. Isaac Shaffer, at Refugee Legal Support, said it was 'critical' that the government sped up decision-making on Arap cases in light of the data breach. He explained that most of the people he was helping 'have waited over a year for a final decision on their Arap application and have remained in hiding throughout; in constant fear, and in extraordinarily precarious circumstances', adding: 'Knowledge of this data breach has only exacerbated this fear and uncertainty'. James Tullett, CEO at charity Ramfel, who helped co-ordinate the letter, said: 'The government has acknowledged that the people they have resettled need protection and yet this offer of support comes with the heavy price of separation from family. 'Allowing Afghan families to reunite won't solve all the problems associated with the data leak, but it will make a monumental difference for the affected families'.