Keir Starmer believes it is counterproductive for Israel to detain MPs from any political party and shares concerns raised by the Foreign Secretary over the refusal to allow two Labour MPs into the country, Downing Street has confirmed.
A No.10 spokesperson said Israel’s decision to refuse MPs Yuan Yang and Abtisam Mohamed entry into the country was not the way “to treat British parliamentarians.”
“The government has been in touch with the two MPs to offer our support,” Downing Street said on Monday.
“When it comes to the Israeli government, the Foreign Secretary has spoken with the Israeli foreign minister over the weekend to make clear our position.”
Labour frontbenchers David Lammy, Keir Starmer, Yvette Cooper, Rachel Reeves
Referencing the response of David Lammy to the incident on Saturday, No.10 said the PM “would echo” such sentiments.
Asked if Starmer shared Foreign Secretary’s criticism of Tory leader Kemi Badenoch’s remarks, the Downing Street spokesperson said he would.
They added:”This isn’t about party politics.
“It’s about standing up for British parliamentarians. That’s why we think it is counterproductive to detain British MPs. ”
No.10 also said that the PM views the deaths of Palestinian Red Crescent medics in Gaza as “an outrage” and he now expects a transparent investigation to take place, with those responsible for the deaths held to account.
“We are focused on how we can see a return to the ceasefire, freeing the hostages and ending the bloodshed,” the spokesperson added.
Starmer does not share the view of one of the two parliamentarians – MP Mohamed – that Israel is committing “ethnic cleansing” in the West Bank and Gaza, his spokesperson said.
