Live updates: Follow the latest news on Israel-Gaza
Labour leader Keir Starmer tried to calm his critics on Tuesday over his stance on Gaza amid a growing rebellion within his party's ranks.
It comes only a day after he suspended MP Andy McDonald and launched an investigation into “deeply offensive” comments he made at a pro-Palestine rally at the weekend.
Mr Starmer is facing mounting pressure with hundreds in his party calling for a ceasefire.
In a speech at London's Chatham House on Tuesday, he attempted to clarify his position on why he believes a truce is not presently appropriate.
He warned a permanent halt at this stage would leave Hamas – designated a terrorist group by the European Union, the UK and the US – with the capability to carry out another attack and repeated his calls for a humanitarian pause so aid can be distributed to civilians in Gaza.
“While I understand calls for a ceasefire at this stage, I do not believe it is the correct position now,” he said.
“A ceasefire always freezes a conflict in the state where it currently lies and as we speak that would leave Hamas with the infrastructure and the capability to carry out attacks. Hamas would be emboldened and would start preparing for future violence immediately.”
A number of senior Labour politicians had called for a total ceasefire in the past week, including London mayor Sadiq Khan and Labour’s Scottish leader Anas Sarwar.
But Mr Starmer has so far aligned Labour with the British and US governments in favouring “pauses” in the fighting rather than a complete halt.
He accepted he has a duty to address collective responsibility in his party over Labour’s stance on the conflict.
Asked by the BBC if he would allow ministers to undermine his responsibility were he to become prime minister, the Labour leader said: “I think it is impossible for anyone to see the suffering we are seeing in Gaza and not feel compelled to try and do something about it.
“That is why I said in my short speech that I understand why people are asking for a ceasefire.
“It is for me to address collective responsibility, I recognise that. It matters and I take that duty extremely seriously, but I put it in the context of understanding what is driving people in the call for a ceasefire, which is in my judgment not the call that we should be making as things stand, for the reasons I have set out.”
On Monday he suspended Mr McDonald over comments he made at a pro-Palestine rally at the weekend.
Another Labour MP, John McDonnell, defended Mr McDonald, saying the suspension “isn't just unjust, it is absolute nonsense”.
Mr McDonald, who will sit as an independent MP for Middlesbrough while an investigation takes place, had used the phrase “between the river and the sea” in a speech during a demonstration at the weekend.
He said his choice of words was part of a wider “heartfelt plea for an end to the killings” in Gaza.
“The comments made by Andy McDonald at the weekend were deeply offensive, particularly at a time of rising anti-Semitism which has left Jewish people fearful for their safety,” a Labour spokesman said.
Ahead of Mr Starmer's speech, Alex Cunningham became the latest shadow minister to call for an immediate halt to the violence, describing it as “heartbreaking” to see “ordinary people caught up in horrors”.
“There must be an immediate ceasefire to get vital aid to Palestinians, give the UN a chance seek the release of Hamas-held hostages and end the deadly attacks on Palestinian and Israeli people,” he said.
Yasmin Qureshi, Jess Phillips and Imran Hussain are among other Labour figures who have joined calls for an end to the fighting.
But it is not Mr Starmer facing a backlash. On Monday, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak fired Tory MP Paul Bristow after he broke ranks to publicly urge the leader to push for a “permanent ceasefire” in Gaza.
Mr Bristow, a Tory MP and ministerial aide at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, had written to the Prime Minister saying a ceasefire would save lives.
He said Palestinian civilians were facing “collective punishment” as a result of Israel’s siege and aerial campaign in the wake of the Hamas bloodshed of October 7.
“A permanent ceasefire would save lives and allow for a continued column of humanitarian aid to reach the people who need it the most,” he wrote.
“The brutal Hamas attacks against innocent civilians are unforgivable.”
But he said hostages need to be released, adding: “It is challenging to understand how the present strategy of bombing Gaza will lead to the release of hostages.”
A spokeswoman for No 10 Downing Street said he had been asked to leave his post following comments that “were not consistent with the principles of collective responsibility”.
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
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“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Saturday's results
West Ham 2-3 Tottenham
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Bournemouth 1-2 Wolves
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Everton 0-2 Norwich City
Watford 0-3 Burnley
Manchester City v Chelsea, 9.30pm
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