Keir Starmer urges Israel and Lebanon to 'pull back from the brink'

UK Prime Minister devotes part of Labour Party conference speech to Middle East crisis

Prime Minister Keir Starmer is joined on stage by his wife Victoria after delivering his keynote speech at the Labour Party conference. Getty Images

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Keir Starmer used his leader’s speech at the Labour Party conference to call for de-escalation between Lebanon and Israel and a ceasefire in Gaza. He reiterated his stance on the need for a two-state solution as he spoke to conference for the first time as UK Prime Minister.

“This is a time when great forces demand a decisive government prepared to face the future,” he said. “We can see that again in the Middle East today. So I call again for restraint and de-escalation at the border between Lebanon and Israel. Again, all parties to pull back from the brink.

“I call again for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the return of the hostages and a recommitment to the two-state solution, a recognised Palestinian state alongside a safe and secure Israel.” He said he would be taking that message to the UN General Assembly when he travels there this evening, “alongside our steadfast support for Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression”.

During Mr Starmer’s speech, a protester shouted “children of Gaza” from the crowd. The Prime Minister replied: “While he’s been protesting, we’ve been changing the party. That’s why we’ve got a Labour government.”

While Mr Starmer was in Liverpool, Defence Secretary John Healey was due to chair a Cobra meeting focused on the Middle East crisis. Mr Healey addressed Labour activists and delegates on Monday, when he vowed to “defend the country and keep our citizens safe”. He said: “War in Europe, conflict in the Middle East, growing Russian aggression – we know these are serious times.”

David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, has made repeated calls for UK citizens to leave Lebanon since late July, when he warned they risked “becoming trapped in a war zone”. Mr Lammy has also left Liverpool for New York, where he met foreign ministers from across the G7 in a meeting on Tuesday.

Mr Starmer’s speech focused heavily on criticism of the previous Conservative government, saying he intended to “build a new Britain”. He accused the Tories of “mining the pits of division, excavating them for conflict”, adding the new Labour administration is “facing up” to the challenges.

Mr Starmer said “staying the course” and “keeping a cool head” would help to improve the UK as he warned that “easy answers do not move a nation forward”.

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers his keynote speech on the third day of the annual Labour Party conference in Liverpool. AFP

He went on to focus on the UK’s efforts to stem illegal migration and directly addressed those who were involved in rioting across parts of the UK over the summer.

He said: “Whatever anyone thinks about immigration, I will never accept the argument … that millions of people concerned about immigration are one and the same thing as the people who smashed up businesses, who targeted mosques, attempted to burn refugees, scrawled racist graffiti over walls, Nazi salutes at the Cenotaph, attacked NHS nurses and told people with different coloured skin, people who contribute here, people who grew up here, that they should ‘go home’.”

He said Britain must “move beyond” a “toxic” commentary about “the worth of migrants” and that the debate should instead be about “control of migration”. He said: “It is … the policy of this Government to reduce both net migration and our economic dependency upon it. I have never thought we should be relaxed about some sectors importing labour when there are millions of young people, ambitious and highly talented, who are desperate to work and contribute to their community.”

Meanwhile, Yvette Cooper said disorder and violence should not “silence a serious debate” on immigration. Speaking at the conference earlier in the day, the Home Secretary condemned recent riots and disorder that broke out in parts of the country, focused on mosques and hotels housing migrants, following a knife attack at a Southport dance studio on July 29 that left three girls dead.

Ms Cooper described the incidents as “arson, racism and thuggery” before saying she was shocked by the response from some in “political parties on the right who once claimed to care about law and order”. She said: “Don’t anyone tell me that was protest. Don’t tell me that was about immigration or policing or poverty.

“Plenty of people have strong views on immigration, on crime, on the NHS and more, but they don’t pick up bricks and throw them at the police. They don’t set light to buildings with people inside. It was arson. It was racism. It was thuggery. It was crime.

“A serious government looks at the criminal gangs who are profiting from undermining our border security while women and children are crushed to death in crowded, flimsy, small boats and says the gangs have got away with it for too long – we will not stand for this vile trade in human lives.

“A serious government knows that immigration is important, and that is why it needs to be properly managed and controlled so the system is fair, so rules are properly respected and enforced but we never again see a shameful repeat of the Windrush scandal that let British citizens down.”