David Lammy today admitted that Keir Starmer’s plan to recognise a Palestinian state will make no difference to the suffering in Gaza despite the potential huge cost to Britain’s standing with its allies.
The Deputy Prime Minister said that the incendiary move, expected to be confirmed by Sir Keir later today, was about giving the Palestinian people ‘hope’.
But he admitted that it would do nothing to end the fighting or feed tens of thousands of people in the grip of famine as the Israelis continue their bloody assault.
It comes as ministers face increasing criticism over a move opposed by the US. During his state visit to the UK, Donald Trump said he has ‘a disagreement with the Prime Minister’ about recognition.
A group of families of hostages taken in the October 7 attack warned that recognition could hamper efforts to release them, and claimed Hamas would be ‘celebrating’.
There are also fears it would impact Britain’s intelligence-sharing relationship with Israel.
Mr Lammy told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg that recognition could not wait for the ‘perfect conditions’.
He said the Palestinian Authority had been calling for the ‘dream’ move for some time ‘and I think a lot of that is wrapped up in hope’.
‘Will this feed children? No it won’t, that’s down to humanitarian aid. Will this free hostages? That must be down to a ceasefire, the DPM said.
But he said it was an attempt to get, or at least ‘hold out for’ a two-state solution.
In an earlier appearance on Sky News he blamed the Netanyahu government for forcing the UK’s hand, saying hopes for a Gaza ceasefire and an end to illegal settlements in the West Bank – the UK’s price for not recognising Palestine – were further away than there were before.
The Deputy Prime Minister said that the incendiary move, expected to be confirmed by Sir Keir later today, was about giving the Palestinian people ‘hope’.
During his state visit to the UK, Donald Trump said he has ‘a disagreement with the Prime Minister’ about recognition.
Keir Starmer ‘s controversial decision to recognise a state of Palestine could lead to demands for the UK to pay more than £2 trillion in reparations to the country, legal experts have said. Pictured: A view of the Gaza Strip from a position at Israel’s border on Friday
Sir Keir said in July he would recognise Palestine ahead of the gathering of world leaders at the UN General Assembly (UNGA) this week if the situation did not improve.
The move has been condemned by Tory leader Kemi Badenoch for ‘rewarding terrorism’, while the US Government says that it will have ‘disastrous consequences’.
This morning shadow chancellor Mel Stride said Sir Keir had been ‘totally naïve’ if he thought his ultimatum would change the mind of the Netanyahu government.
‘What has happened is that Keir Starmer’s backbenchers and members of his cabinet have forced him into this position, to make this move,’ he added.
‘[It] has taken the leverage off the table. And that’s not good foreign policy.’
Now legal experts have warned that it could also be a costly decision – because the new country would ask for eye-watering damages in compensation for land ‘taken from the Palestinian people’ when Britain relinquished control of the region after the Second World War.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who has a long history of threatening to sue Britain, is demanding ‘reparations in accordance with international law’ based on the value of the land which was under British rule between 1917 and 1948.
Some international law experts have described £2 trillion, roughly the size of Britain’s total economy, as a ‘good place to start’.
Mr Lammy told the BBC ‘s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg that recognition could not wait for the ‘perfect conditions’.
The campaign group called Britain Owes Palestine has demanded an apology from Britain for ‘war crimes’ in the region.
The senior Palestinian diplomat in the UK said recognition would correct a colonial-era wrong dating back to the Balfour Declaration supporting the creation of a Jewish state in 1917.
Head of mission Husam Zomlot told the BBC ‘the hands of British history’ were on the whole conflict and the Uk should ‘celebrate a day when history is being corrected, when wrongs are being righted’.
He added that recognition was a ‘foundational step’ towards establishing a sovereign state of Palestine ‘and anybody who argues against that is somebody who wants to see us moving backward rather than forward’.
Families of the hostages abducted by Hamas in the October 7 attacks have written to the Prime Minister to condemn the decision, which they claim has ‘dramatically complicated’ efforts to be reunited with their relatives.
In an open letter to Sir Keir, they said: ‘Your regrettable announcement of the UK’s intention to recognise a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly has dramatically complicated efforts to bring home our loved ones.
‘Hamas has already celebrated the UK’s decision as a victory and reneged on a ceasefire deal. We write to you with a simple plea – do not take this step until our loved ones are home and in our arms.’
Ilay David, brother of hostage Evyatar David, who was seen emaciated in a Hamas video last month, said: ‘Giving this recognition is like saying to Hamas: ‘It is OK, you can keep starving the hostages, you can keep using them as human shields.’
‘This kind of recognition gives Hamas power to be stubborn in negotiations. That is the last thing we need right now.’
Criticism also came from Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, who said: ‘Hamas and a Palestinian state are inseparable for now. This is typical of Starmer, he can’t really decide where he stands.
‘Whatever the caveats in his statement, this announcement is a surrender to terrorism and a betrayal of Israel.’
