In a post on X, Israel’s foreign ministry wrote that the UK recognising Palestine as a state is “nothing but a reward for jihadist Hamas”.

The ministry wrote:

Recognition is nothing but a reward for jihadist Hamas – emboldened by its Muslim Brotherhood affiliated in the UK.

Hamas leaders themselves openly admit: this recognition is a direct outcome, the “fruit” for the October 7 massacre. Don’t let Jihadist ideology dictate your policy.

Starmer continued:

We have evacuated the first group of sick and injured children to the United Kingdom to be treated by the NHS, and we continue to increase our humanitarian support, but still nowhere near enough aid is getting through.

We call again on the Israeli government to lift the unacceptable restrictions at the border, stop these cruel tactics, and let the aid surge in. With the actions of Hamas, the Israeli government escalating the conflict and settlement building being accelerated in the West Bank, the hope of a two- state solution is fading. But we cannot let that light go out.

That is why we are building consensus with leaders in the region and beyond, around our framework for peace.

This is a practical plan to bring people together behind a common vision and a series of steps, including the reform of the Palestinian Authority, that takes us from a ceasefire in Gaza to negotiations on a two-state solution. We will keep driving this forward.

As part of this effort I set out in July the terms upon which we would act in line with our manifesto to recognise Palestinian statehood. That moment has now arrived. So today, to revive the hope of peace and a two-state solution, I state clearly, as prime minister of this great country, that the United Kingdom formally recognises the state of Palestine.

We recognise the State of Israel, more than 75 years ago, as a homeland for the Jewish people. Today we join over 150 countries who recognise a Palestinian state also, a pledge to the Palestinian and Israeli people that there can be a better future. I know the strength of feeling that this conflict provokes.

Here is some of what Keir Starmer said in his 6.21 minute video explaining why the UK is now recognising Palestinian statehood:

Hamas is a brutal terror organization. Our call for a genuine two-state solution is the exact opposite of their hateful vision.

So we are clear: this solution is not a reward for Hamas, because it means Hamas can have no future, no role in government, no role in security.

We have already proscribed and sanctioned Hamas, and we will go further. I have directed work to sanction other Hamas figures in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, the man made humanitarian crisis in Gaza reaches new depths.

The Israeli government’s relentless and increasing bombardment of Gaza, the offensive of recent weeks, the starvation and devastation are utterly intolerable.

Tens of thousands have been killed, including thousands as they tried to collect food and water. This death and destruction horrifies all of us. It must end.

Starmer also said he has met British families of the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza and sees “the torture they endure each and every day”.

The prime minister reiterated calls for Hamas to release the hostages immediately, adding that the British government “will keep fighting” until they are brought home to their loved ones.

The British prime minister, Keir Starmer, has just announced the UK’s recognition of a Palestinian state, in what is seen as a major change in UK foreign policy, albeit largely symbolic.

It comes shortly after Canada and Australia both decided to recognise Palestine as a sovereign state.

The UK’s decision carries symbolic weight as Britain played a major role in Israel’s creation as a modern nation in the aftermath of the second world war and has long been its ally.

The decision may mean the Palestinian Mission in London is upgraded to embassy status. It could also result in banning products that come from Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territories.

Australia has also just announced its recognition of a Palestinian state on social media.

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said Australia recognised “the legitimate and long-held aspirations of the people of Palestine to a state of their own”.

As my colleague Tom McIlroy notes in this story, the establishment of an embassy and active diplomatic relations will flow once the Palestinian Authority meets reform commitments sought by the international community.

Canadian prime minister Mark Carney has just said on X that Palestine has been recognised by Canada as a state. It means Canada has become the first G7 nation to recognise a Palestinian state.

In a statement, Carney said:

The current Israeli government is working methodically to prevent the prospect of a Palestinian state from ever being established. It has pursued an unrelenting policy of settlement expansion in the West Bank, which is illegal under international law.

Its sustained assault in Gaza has killed tens of thousands of civilians, displaced well over one million people, and caused a devastating and preventable famine in violation of international law. It is now the avowed policy of the current Israeli government that ‘there will be no Palestinian state’.

It is in this context that Canada recognises the State of Palestine and offers our partnership in building the promise of a peaceful future for both the State of Palestine and the State of Israel. Canada does so as part of a coordinated international effort to preserve the possibility of a two-state solution.

While Canada is under no illusions that this recognition is a panacea, this recognition is firmly aligned with the principles of self-determination and fundamental human rights reflected in the United Nations Charter, and the consistent policy of Canada for generations.

The company running the House of Commons nursery and others across London has been criticised for publishing an article on its website praising Reform UK’s conference and claiming anti-immigration protests were “driven by a sense of injustice”.

The article, which was taken down by LEYF nurseries after an approach by the Guardian, was written by its chief executive, June O’Sullivan, after her visit to the party’s conference.

It described the government’s budget as “disastrous”, referred to the “frittering away of taxpayers’ money”, and used the pejorative nickname “Rachel from accounts” to refer to the chancellor, Rachel Reeves.

House of Commons authorities said they would remind the company of its responsibilities as a contractor when it came to public communications.

LEYF (London Early Years Foundation), which runs 43 nurseries across 13 London boroughs and says it is committed to a diverse workforce, published O’Sullivan’s recollections on attending the event under the headline Musings from the Reform Conference.

You can read the full story here:

Daniel Boffey is the Guardian’s chief reporter

The former City minister Tulip Siddiq has said she fears prosecutors could be planning to use “fake” documents to secure her conviction in her trial in Bangladesh on corruption charges.

The Labour MP, who is being tried in absentia, spoke out after images of a Bangladeshi national identity card and a passport said to be in her name were published in newspapers in the UK and in Bangladesh.

Siddiq said the documents that appeared in the Times and Prothom Alo, a prominent Bangladeshi newspaper, were forgeries.

She said: “I’ve struggled with fake news for one year now about all my crimes. No evidence has been produced. So now fake documentation. And I guess the next step is fake evidence.”

Siddiq and 20 other individuals, including her aunt, her mother, her brother and her sister, have been on trial in the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka, since the start of August.

She is accused of influencing her aunt, Sheikh Hasina, who was ousted as Bangladesh’s prime minister last year, to secure a plot of land in a suburb of Dhaka for her family members.

She denies the allegations, which she says are politically motivated.

You can read the full story here:

In some other news, Ed Davey, the Lib Dems leader, has branded Elon Musk a criminal over remarks he made at the “Unite the Kingdom” rally in London last week.

Addressing the crowds last Saturday via video link, Musk, the owner of X, said: “I think there’s something beautiful about being British and what I see happening here is a destruction of Britain, initially a slow erosion but rapidly increasing erosion of Britain with massive uncontrolled migration.

“This is a message to the reasonable centre, the people who ordinarily wouldn’t get involved in politics, who just want to live their lives.

“They don’t want that, they’re quiet, they just go about their business.

“My message is to them: if this continues, that violence is going to come to you, you will have no choice. You’re in a fundamental situation here.

“Whether you choose violence or not, violence is coming to you. You either fight back or you die, that’s the truth, I think.”

Asked by Sky News’ Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips programme if he thought the billionaire was a criminal, Davey replied:

Yes. Not just because of the awful things he’s done, inciting violence. For example, he says a civil war in our country is inevitable, that our democratically elected government should be overthrown. They were bad enough.

But on his platform, there are examples of adverts pushing people on self-harm, on grooming, even selling videos showing paedophile acts, child sex abuse acts. And I think he should be held to account for them. Him personally and his business.

Ofcom now have the powers under the Online Safety Act… I know that is a new act and maybe we need to give them a bit more time but I personally think they need the encouragement and the support to take on powerful people and we shouldn’t just let powerful people get away with it.

Scotland’s first minister John Swinney has welcomed the UK recognition of a Palestinian state as a “historic moment” but said it must not be conditional and must be backed by sanctions on Israel.

His comments come after a UN commission last week said it had reasonable grounds to conclude Israel is committing a genocide against the Palestinian population in Gaza, a charge Israel denies despite the overwhelming evidence supporting it (you can read more about the commission’s findings here).

The UN independent international commission of inquiry (COI) cited the killing of civilians and children in a “scorched-earth military strategy”, starvation and deaths caused by restrictions on food and medicines, mistreatment of detainees, forced displacement and the physical devastation of much of the territory to support its conclusion.

In comments carried by the PA news agency, Swinney said:

The recognition of a Palestinian state is a historic moment which should have come long ago.

I welcome this long-awaited recognition but stress that it must not be conditional and it must be backed by sanctions against Israel.

In addition to the recognition of the State of Palestine, Israel must agree to a ceasefire and allow humanitarian aid to flow freely to address the starvation being faced in Gaza.

A two-state solution is the only way that the Palestinians and Israelis can live side by side in peace, prosperity and security.

I am proud to be attending an event to mark the recognition of the State of Palestine and will continue to do all that I can to support those suffering in Gaza and the West Bank.

David Lammy has also been on the BBC, speaking to Laura Kuenssberg on her Sunday morning programme.

Lammy is asked about what he would say to the families of Israeli hostages who say recognising Palestinian statehood is ill-judged and seriously complicates efforts to bring their loved ones home.

The deputy prime minister, who has repeatedly called for the hostages being held by Hamas to be released, said he continues to meet with hostage families.

He added:

Hamas is not the Palestinian people. A Palestinian state is a just cause, and our country, 108 years ago, signed up to the Balfour Declaration, we believe in a homeland for the Jewish people, but we also stated that we believed in the civil and religious rights of the Palestinian people, and now is the time to stand up for that two states.

Otherwise you are effectively saying you believe in no state for the Palestinian people or one state in which you would have to explain how there is proper equality before the law for the Palestinian people.

The deputy prime minister, David Lammy, is speaking to Sky News’ Trevor Phillips this morning on behalf of the government.

Lammy, who will represent the UK at the general assembly, has said a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel “lays in tatters” after Israel carried out an airstrike on a Hamas negotiating team in Qatar at the start of the month, and the continued expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, which are illegal under international law.

Qatar, a close US ally, has been hosting negotiations aimed at securing a ceasefire in the Gaza war, and plays a key role as an intermediary.

Lammy, the former foreign secretary, told Sky News:

Well, since that announcement in July, in fact, with the attack on Qatar, a ceasefire at this point lays in tatters, and the prospects are bleak.

And of course, we’ve also seen Israel move forward with an E1 development which would run a coach and horses between both the north and south West bank and ensure that we do not get to two states.

Lammy condemned Israel’s so-called E1 plan, a highly controversial and illegal project for more than 3,400 new homes which would effectively split the occupied West Bank in half.

As my colleague Peter Beaumont explains in this story, the plan would extend the existing Jewish settlement of Ma’ale Adumim towards Jerusalem, further cutting occupied east Jerusalem from the West Bank, and further separating the north and south of the territory.

Israel’s far-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich – who backs both the plan and the imposition of Israeli sovereignty through the occupied West Bank – gloated that he believed construction on E1 would “bury the idea of a Palestinian state”.

The Guardian’s diplomatic editor, Patrick Wintour, has done a useful explainer with a section looking at what recognising Palestine would look like in practice. Here is an extract:

Recognition is largely symbolic. When the UK’s position was announced the then foreign secretary, David Lammy, said: “It will not change the position on the ground.”

But it allows the UK to enter treaties with Palestine and would mean that the Palestine head of mission becomes a fully recognised ambassador.

Some argue that a greater onus would be placed on the UK to boycott goods imported into the UK by Israel that come from the occupied territories.

But it is seen more as a statement on Palestine’s future, and disapproval of Israel’s refusal to negotiate a Palestinian state…

There are genuine fears that Israel is about to annex the West Bank or make Gaza so uninhabitable that Palestinians are forced over the borders into Jordan or Egypt, so destroying the possibility of a Palestinian homeland.

Recognition that Palestine is a state with the right to self-determination is an attempt to show Israel cannot simply annex land that the international court of justice has declared to be illegally occupied.

Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of UK politics.

The British prime minister, Keir Starmer, is expected to announce the UK’s recognition of a Palestinian state in a statement on Sunday afternoon, despite fierce Israeli opposition and US pressure to reconsider.

Starmer said in July he would recognise Palestinian statehood before the UN general assembly in New York this month if Israel did not meet a series of conditions to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza, including agreeing to a ceasefire and committing to a long-term peace process leading to a Palestinian state coexisting alongside Israel.

But Israel’s continued restrictions on aid into the devastated territory, causing starvation in parts of the Strip, the IDF’s relentless bombardments, killing a high number of civilians and destroying much of Gaza’s infrastructure, and Israel’s expanded assault on famine-stricken Gaza City, which has forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee, has made the government feel like taking stronger action – no matter how symbolic – is necessary.

The UK government is also said to be alarmed at plans to accelerate Israeli settlements in the West Bank which ministers fear will end any hope of a two-state solution.

High-level meetings at the UN summit involving world leaders begin on 23 September. In a rare diplomatic break with Washington, Starmer has found himself at odds with the Trump administration over the move, which is opposed to giving official recognition to the state.

Portugal’s foreign ministry said on Friday that it would also formally declare its recognition for Palestinian statehood on Sunday.

Lisbon had already announced in July that it intended to do so, citing the “extremely worrying evolution of the conflict”. Similar moves have been made by Australia, Canada, Luxembourg and France. The Israeli government says that recognition rewards Hamas’ terrorism.

Labour has sought to stress that recognition of a Palestinian state is not a reward for Hamas, and emphasised that it would have no role in the future governance of Gaza.

It is expected the government will ratchet up sanctions on Hamas in due course, and it has stepped up demands for the release of hostages.

Family members of some of the hostages taken by Hamas during its attack on southern Israel in October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage, urged Starmer to hold off from recognition until the 48 still in Gaza, of whom 20 are believed to still be alive, had been returned safely.

The letter said:

Your regrettable announcement of the UK’s intention to recognise a Palestinian state at the United Nations general assembly has dramatically complicated efforts to bring home our loved ones.

Hamas has already celebrated the UK’s decision as a victory and reneged on a ceasefire deal. We write to you with a simple plea – do not take this step until our loved ones are home and in our arms.