Postpublished at 00:01 12 July
Finally, Starmer is pressed on his views on recognising a Palestinian state, something his government is committed to doing but hasn’t set out a timeline for.
The former shadow culture secretary Thangam Debbonaire – who lost her seat to the Green Party – has said Labour lacked a coherent position on Gaza, an issue which cost it support in some parts of the UK.
Starmer says the UK position on the Middle East was discussed at Nato, and says his government’s “solemn duty” is to help bring about an end to hostilities in the Middle East.
The PM says moving towards a two-state solution was discussed in Nato meetings and recognising a Palestinian state will be part of that process.
Asked whether he would consider recognising Palestinian statehood before the US, Starmer says: “I’ll determine our policy, I won’t follow anyone else.”
And that’s that from the prime minister – he’ll now head back to the UK after concluding an extremely busy first week in office.
