Starmer faces likely vote at Labour conference on call for all arms sales to Israel to be suspended

Patrick Wintour

The Labour leadership is facing a challenge at party conference to extend its current limited arms embargo to Israel to cover all arms export licences and to go faster in recognition of Palestine as a state.

Campaigners say they intend to advance an emergency motion similar to one passed unanimously at the TUC last week calling on the government not just to impose an embargo on 30 arms export licences, but all current licences. They are confident they will receive the votes at conference for the issue to be chosen for debate.

The UK government on 3 September after two months intense internal discussion suspended 30 of the 350 arms export licences to Israel, but the decision has left both pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian groups disssatisfied.

The Palestinian ambassador to the UK, Husan Zumlot, has been working the union conference circuit hard this spring and summer building support, and the party is also aware that it remains under electoral challenge in some of its strongholds from the Green Party and independents in local elections.

Both the Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner and the Middle East minister Hamish Falconer are due to speak at a Palestinian reception on Monday evening alongside Zumlot.

In a 20-minute address to the TUC Zumlot said it would be unconscionable if the UK continued to sell arms to Israel.

The Palestine Solidarity Campaign said “the TUC vote was a clear rebuke to the decision of the foreign secretary David Lammy to suspend only 10% of arms export licences crucially excluding indirect exports of components for the F-35 combat aircraft known to have been used to massacre civilians in the Gaza”. The PSC argues that the licences must be suspended if the UK is to meet its obligations under the Geneva Convention and international law.

There is likely to be a dispute between pro-Palestinian groups about how to frame any resolution extending the arms embargo, including how harshly to criticise Hamas for the attack on 7 October and how explicitly to state Labour government would be complicit in war crimes if it does ot suspend all arms exports.

One veteran pro-Palestinian campaigner says: “This is the first conference since the general election and where the mood will be one of unity. We have to be careful to frame our demands in a balanced way.”

A resolution submitted by Birmingham Northfield, for instance, calls for equal rights for Palestinians and Israelis, as well as the release of all hostages whilst calling for the UK arms export sales to be halted to any state or group where there are known risks of international humanitarian law being violated.

The Labour national executive committee has the power to ask the conference to reject or remit a resolution with which it finds problematic, but that call can be rejected by conference. Labour is likely to argue its decision making is bound by a legal process.

In its news release, No 10 also firms up a bit what was agreed between Keir Starmer and Giorgia Meloni in terms of cooperation in dealing with irregular migration. It says:

In a joint statement issued after his meeting with Prime Minister Meloni, he has also confirmed that the UK will contribute £4m to the Rome Process, the Italian government’s project to tackle the root causes of irregular migration.

The UK and Italy have also agreed to work more closely to tackle illicit financial flows linked to organised immigration crime and share intelligence to disrupt the maritime equipment supply chains used by vile people smuggling gangs.

The two leaders also agreed to deepen their defence co-operation by confirming that Italian army and navy will participate in UK carrier strike group operations in the Indo-Pacific next year.

At the press conference Keir Starmer said that he and Giorgia Meloni had discussed two Italian investments into the UK.

Downing Street has now issued a press release with more details. It says:

Today’s confirmed investments include:

-Leonardo, one of the world’s leading defence, aerospace and security companies, will invest £435m in 2024, to be spent at their Yeovil site, and in technology development and research programmes across the UK. It operates 8 major sites in the UK, supporting 8,000 employees.

-Marcegaglia, a steel manufacturer, will invest £50m in Sheffield to build a new clean steel electric arc furnace, creating 50 new jobs.

No 10 said the investments would support jobs and drive growth.

The press notice also includes this endorsement from Stefano Pontecorvo, chairman of Leonardo.

It is clear that the prime minister represents a pronounced change in approach for the UK and its relationship with the European Union. Leonardo’s presence in the UK is underpinned by transnational collaboration at a governmental level, which also supports cooperation at an industrial level.

I have beefed up some of the earlier posts with direct quotes from the press conference. You may need to refresh the page to get them to show up.

Q: [Also from Matt Dathan from the Times] Will you stop accepting gifts from Lord Alli?

Starmer says:

In relation to your question about gifts, look, the rules are absolutely clear in relation to gifts, in terms of the declarations that need to be made.

I said before the election, I say again after election, the rules really matter in terms of declarations.

That’s why my team reached out for advice on what to declare from the relevant authorities. They reached out again, more recently, got further advice and hence the declarations have gone in in accordance with the rules, so that it’s transparent and you can all see, according to the rules, exactly what declarations were made.

But it was because I insist on the rules that my team reached out to make sure that we were declaring in the right way under the rules, and then reached out against the appropriate authorities, basically asking for advice about what’s the appropriate way to deal with this.

He does not address the actual question, which was about whether he would continue to take gifts from Lord Alli.

Q: [From Matt Dathan from the Times] Unlike Rishi Sunak, you are not saying you can stop the boats. Was he unrealistic?

Starmer says the Rwanda plan was a gimmick. He repeats the point about being pragmatic. (See 2.04pm.)

UPDATE: Starmer said:

Rather than a gimmick, which, as you know, cost £700 million to persuade four volunteers to go to Rwanda, we have gone down the road of pragmatism.

Already we have returned over 3,000 people by flights. So, the flights actually did get off under this government, not to Rwanda, but back to countries of origin, carrying with them 3,000 people who shouldn’t be here, including the single biggest flight that has ever taken off, returning people to their country of origin.

That’s why we’re working so intently on the Border Security Command, which is intended to take down the gangs that are running the vile trade in the first place.

The next question is from an Italian journalist, who asks if the leaders favour Ukraine being allowed to use Storm Shadow missiles against targets in Russian territory.

Meloni says she wants to see 360 degree support for Ukraine.

Starmer says Russia started the war. He says he wants to support Ukraine. He says they discussed equipment today, but he will not discuss the details.

UPDATE: Starmer said:

I think it’s very important as a matter of principle that we put Ukraine in the best possible position, and that’s what we’ve been discussing. We’ve had the opportunity today to touch on that.

I had the opportunity in recent days to touch on that. I’m not going to go into individual capabilities. You wouldn’t expect me to do that, but the principle framework, I think, is absolutely right, and we’ll continue to have our discussions in relation to it.

Q: [Also from Alex Forsyth] What is your response to human rights criticism’s of Italy’s approach?

Meloni says she does not accept that human rights have been violated.

UPDATE: Meloni said:

I don’t know what human rights violations you’re referring to, to be totally frank.

I have explained at length that the jurisdiction of these centres in Albania, it’s Italian and European.

So either you believe that European jurisdiction violates the human rights of migrants – or, well, I don’t know, this accusation, I think it’s completely groundless.

Q: [From Alex Forsyth from the BBC] How interested are you in the Italian offshoring plan? And are you happy with every aspect of their approach to human rights?

Starmer says they were discussing a common challenge. He says the Albanian scheme has not started. He is particularly impressed by the “upstream work” done by the Italians, stopping people coming in the first place.

He says today has been about a return of British pragmatism. He says:

I have always made the argument that preventing people leaving their country in the first place is far better than trying to deal with those that have arrived in any of our countries. I was very interested in that.

In a sense, today was a return – if you like – to British pragmatism.

We are pragmatists first and foremost. When we see a challenge we discuss with our friends and allies the different approaches that are being taken, look at what works, and that is the approach we have taken today, and it has been a very productive day.

The first question comes from an Italian journalist.

Q: How will your cooperation on immigration play out?

Meloni says her government has a plan for illegal migration. She says Italy and the UK may be able to extend the work done by law enforcement agencies. And there may be scope for making sure their legislation is “in greater harmony” in the future, she says.

The traffickers work internationally, she says. She says:

No nation by itself can be effective in dismantling these networks of traffickers.

On Albania, she says Starmer was “very interested” in the Italian plan to process asylum applications offshore in Albania.

She says the programme has not started. But it may be delayed for a few weeks, she says.

UPDATE: Meloni said:

Albania, well, I have seen that the prime minister was very interested in what we are doing – but he should be the one to speak about this.

The model that the Italian government has conceived focuses on asylum applications for those immigrants who disembark within Italian or EU legislation or European legislation in a foreign country.

That was a model that was never experimented with before. If it works, as I hope it will, this can become a new way, really, to deal with migration flow.

Also because of the element of deterrence that this creates …

We have been working on this project rigorously. From what I understand, it will take a few weeks before it is perfect.

It would have been better if it has started earlier. I know that the world is watching us. Therefore I think we have to do this in the best possible way. And if we need a few extra days, as I was OK with this a few weeks ago, I will be OK with this now as well. But we are talking about a few weeks.

Giorgia Meloni, the Italian PM, is speaking at the opening of the press conference with Keir Starmer.

She is running through what she and Starmer discussed. They agreed to beef up efforts to tackle the gangs involved in people smuggling, she says.

These are from the i’s Chloe Chaplain.