Sir Keir Starmer is making efforts to subject Labour's stance on the Israel-Hamas conflict to a vote, aiming to preserve party unity.
The party has introduced a Commons amendment expressing apprehensions about the civilian death toll and advocating for extended pauses in the fighting to aid delivery.
However, it aligns with the Labour leader's stance and stops short of explicitly urging an immediate ceasefire in the conflict, the BBC reported.
Numerous Labour MPs have challenged their leader by advocating for a ceasefire, and 19 frontbench members have publicly deviated from their party's official position.
In recent developments, shadow minister Imran Hussain resigned from his position last week to advocate for an immediate ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Approximately 50 councillors have also left the party due to disagreements with the leadership's stance on the war.
Starmer has maintained that a ceasefire might not be appropriate as it could freeze the conflict and empower Hamas.
Instead, both Labour and the Conservative government, along with the US and the European Union, are endorsing "humanitarian pauses" to help aid reach Gaza.
These pauses are typically short-term in comparison to a formal ceasefire and aim to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza without necessarily achieving long-term political resolutions.
Last week, the US announced that Israel would initiate daily four-hour military pauses in specific parts of northern Gaza.
On Tuesday (14), shadow foreign secretary David Lammy advocated for a "comprehensive" humanitarian pause, while foreign office minister Andrew Mitchell expressed the need for "longer pauses that cover wider areas."
On Wednesday (15), the Labour Party faced mounting pressure as the Scottish National Party (SNP) aimed to secure a vote advocating a ceasefire, presenting an amendment to the King's Speech, Rishi Sunak's programme for government unveiled last week.
Concerns have arisen that some frontbenchers may resign to support the SNP motion. In response, Labour has submitted its own amendment.
The decision on whether either or both motions will be voted on rests with Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle.
The text of the amendment supports Israel's right to self-defence after Hamas's horrific October 7 attack in which 1,200 people were killed and more than 200 taken hostage.
It also says that there has been "too much suffering, including far too many deaths of innocent civilians and children" since Israel retaliated by attacking Gaza.
According to the Hamas-run health ministry more than 11,000 people have been killed in Gaza since then including more than 4,500 children.
The amendment calls on Israel to "protect hospitals and lift the siege conditions" on the territory, and urges longer humanitarian pauses to allow aid "on a scale that begins to meet the desperate needs of the people of Gaza".
It states that this is a "necessary step to an enduring cessation of fighting as soon as possible and a credible, diplomatic, and political process to deliver the lasting peace of a two-state solution".
Shadow cabinet minister Lisa Nandy did not specify how Labour MPs would be expected to vote on the SNP motion if it is selected, adding that this was "a matter for the chief whip".
However, sources from the Labour Party said that frontbenchers will be instructed to abstain if the SNP motion is picked.
The SNP motion says it "unequivocally condemns the horrific killings by Hamas and the taking of hostages" and "reaffirms that there must be an end to the collective punishment of the Palestinian people".
It calls for "the urgent release of all hostages and an end to the siege of Gaza to allow vital supplies of food, fuel, medicine and water to reach the civilian population".
It also notes "the growing calls for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire from the United Nations and its aid agencies; and therefore, call on the Government to join with the international community in urgently pressing all parties to agree to an immediate ceasefire".
Supporters of Starmer position express optimism that the move could prevent most resignations. However, they acknowledge that the issue of endorsing a ceasefire has become a central concern for some MPs.
Starmer faced criticism within his party for suggesting that, in response to Hamas's October 7 attack, Israel had the right to cut off water and electricity in Gaza.
His spokesperson clarified that he meant to emphasise Israel's general right to self-defence. But despite a speech acknowledging calls for a ceasefire, his stance has faced ongoing pressure, leading to more defiance from MPs and councillors.
A FORMER West Yorkshire Police officer has been sentenced to two years and three months in prison after being convicted of misconduct in a public office.
Wasim Bashir, 55, who worked as a detective constable in Bradford District, was found guilty of one count of misconduct in a public office for forming a sexual relationship with a female victim of crime. He was sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court on Friday, 29 August.
Bashir retired from the force while under investigation but will still face misconduct proceedings.
The charge related to an incident of abuse of position for a sexual purpose, with Bashir engaging in a sexual relationship with a woman who had reported to West Yorkshire Police that she had been the victim of a sexual offence. He was involved in investigating her case.
The conviction followed an investigation by West Yorkshire Police’s Counter Corruption Unit under the direction of the Independent Office for Police Conduct. During the trial, the judge directed the jury to find Bashir not guilty of a second count of misconduct in a public office.
Detective Superintendent Natalie Dawson, Deputy Head of West Yorkshire Police’s Professional Standards Directorate, said: “For a police officer to pursue a sexual relationship with a vulnerable woman who had come forward to report being victim of a sexual offence is nothing short of abhorrent.
“I want to reassure victims of crime and the wider public that this former officer is not representative of our organisation. One of the Force’s key purposes is to protect vulnerable people, and our officers and staff work tirelessly to protect people from harm and to safeguard victims.
“Former DC Bashir has retired from the organisation, but we will still continue with misconduct proceedings with a view to him being banned from gaining any further employment in the policing profession.”
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Protesters calling for the closure of The Bell Hotel, which was housing asylum seekers, gather outside the council offices in Epping on August 8, 2025. (Photo: Getty Images)
Court of Appeal has overturned injunction blocking use of Epping hotel for asylum seekers.
Judges say human rights obligations outweigh local safety concerns.
At least 13 councils preparing legal action despite ruling.
Protests outside the Bell Hotel lead to arrests and police injuries.
MORE than a dozen councils are moving ahead with legal challenges against the use of hotels for asylum seekers despite the Home Office winning an appeal in the Court of Appeal.
Judges ruled that meeting the human rights of asylum seekers by providing accommodation outweighed local safety concerns.
The injunction was secured by Epping Forest District Council after protests following the alleged sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl by an Ethiopian asylum seeker.
The man has been charged and denies wrongdoing. A full hearing on the planning dispute over the Bell Hotel will take place in October.
At least 13 councils are preparing similar legal action, The Times reported, including Labour-run Wirral, Stevenage, Tamworth and Rushmoor. Epping Forest Council said it may appeal to the Supreme Court.
Asylum minister Dame Angela Eagle said the government remained committed to ending hotel use by 2029 and argued the appeal was needed to move migrants “in a controlled and orderly way”.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch criticised the government for prioritising “the rights of illegal immigrants above the rights of British people” and urged councils to continue legal action.
Reform leader Nigel Farage said the government had used the European Convention on Human Rights “against the people of Epping”.
Councils including Broxbourne and Spelthorne confirmed they were pressing ahead with enforcement action on planning grounds.
Protests outside the Bell Hotel on Friday led to the arrest of three men, while two police officers sustained minor injuries.
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India and Canada have appointed new envoys in a step to restore diplomatic ties strained since 2023. (Representational image: iStock)
INDIA and Canada on Thursday announced the appointment of new envoys to each other’s capitals, in a step aimed at restoring strained ties following the killing of a Sikh separatist in 2023.
India has named senior diplomat Dinesh K Patnaik as the next high commissioner to Ottawa, while Canada appointed Christopher Cooter as its new envoy to New Delhi.
The move comes more than two months after Indian prime minister Narendra Modi met Canadian prime minister Mark Carney on the sidelines of the G7 summit at Kananaskis in Canada.
Patnaik, a 1990-batch Indian Foreign Service officer, is currently India’s ambassador to Spain.
“He is expected to take up the assignment shortly,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement.
In Ottawa, Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand announced that Cooter will be the next high commissioner to India, succeeding Cameron MacKay.
“The appointment of a new high commissioner reflects Canada’s step-by-step approach to deepening diplomatic engagement and advancing bilateral cooperation with India,” Anand said. “This appointment is an important development toward restoring services for Canadians while strengthening the bilateral relationship to support Canada’s economy.”
A Canadian statement described the appointments as an important step towards restoring diplomatic services for citizens and businesses in both countries.
Cooter, who has 35 years of diplomatic experience, most recently served as Canada’s charge d’affaires to Israel and has earlier been high commissioner to South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho, Mauritius and Madagascar. He also worked as first secretary at the Canadian High Commission in New Delhi from 1998 to 2000.
In June, Modi and Carney had agreed to take “constructive” steps to bring stability to bilateral ties, including the early return of envoys to both capitals.
Relations between the two countries had deteriorated sharply after then prime minister Justin Trudeau alleged in 2023 that India may have had a role in the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Following this, India recalled its high commissioner and five other diplomats in October last year, while expelling an equal number of Canadian diplomats after Ottawa linked them to the case.
Carney’s victory in the parliamentary election in April has since helped initiate a reset in relations.
(With inputs from agencies)
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Security officers escort Sri Lankan former fisheries minister, Rajitha Senaratne (C), outside a court in Colombo on August 29, 2025. (Photo by ISHARA S. KODIKARA/AFP via Getty Images)
SRI LANKAN former government minister surrendered himself to a court on Friday (29) after two months on the run, the latest high profile detention in a sweeping anti-corruption crackdown.
Anti-graft units have ramped up their investigations since president Anura Kumara Dissanayake came to power in September on a promise to fight corruption.
Former fisheries minister Rajitha Senaratne, who served in the cabinet of then-president Mahinda Rajapaksa, is accused of illegally awarding a 2012 contract to a foreign firm, allegedly causing a loss to the state of $83,000 (£61,478).
Senaratne had repeatedly dodged questioning, the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption said.
High Court judge Lanka Jayaratne ordered him transferred to a lower court to face multiple cases.
Several politicians from the Rajapaksa administration, as well as family members, are either in jail or on bail pending corruption investigations.
Former president Ranil Wickremesinghe was arrested last week on a charge of misusing $55,000 (£40,738) of government funds for a private stopover in Britain.
Wickremesinghe, 76, who was granted bail on Tuesday (26), insisted the stopover was part of his official duties.
Under Dissanayake, two former senior ministers have been jailed for up to 25 years for corruption.
The police chief has been impeached, after he was accused of running a criminal network that supported politicians, and the prisons chief was jailed for corruption.
The head of immigration -- arrested just before Dissanayake took power -- remains in detention on a charge of contempt of court.
(AFP)
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Protesters from the group Save Our Future & Our Kids Future demonstrate against uncontrolled immigration outside the Cladhan Hotel on August 16, 2025 in Falkirk, Scotland. (Photo: Getty Images)
UK appeals court overturns ruling blocking hotel use for asylum seekers
Judges call earlier High Court decision “seriously flawed”
138 asylum seekers will not need to be relocated by September 12
Full hearing scheduled at the Court of Appeal in October
A UK appeals court has overturned a lower court order that had temporarily blocked the use of a hotel in Epping, northeast of London, to house asylum seekers.
A three-judge panel said the High Court ruling that set a September 12 deadline to move migrants from the Bell Hotel contained "a number of errors".
The case followed protests outside the hotel after a resident was charged with sexually assaulting a local girl. Demonstrations have continued for weeks and at times turned violent, triggering debate on immigration policy.
The Court of Appeal said the earlier ruling was "seriously flawed in principle" and could act as an "impetus or incentive for further protests". It added that it failed to consider the "obvious consequence that the closure of one site means capacity needs to be identified elsewhere in the system".
The government will now not be required to relocate 138 asylum seekers from the hotel by September 12. The decision also weakens local efforts to challenge the use of other hotels to house asylum seekers.
The Home Office is legally required under a 1999 law to house "all destitute asylum seekers whilst their asylum claims are being decided".
The case will return for a full hearing at the Court of Appeal in October. Both the Home Office and the hotel’s owner, Somani Hotels, are opposing Epping Forest District Council’s bid to prevent the hotel being used for asylum accommodation.
The council argued that the hotel posed a public safety risk and that its use breached planning rules.
The hotel became the focus of national attention after resident Hadush Kebatu was accused of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl. He has denied the charges, which include sexual assault, attempted sexual assault, and harassment without violence. His trial began this week.
Protests in Epping have since spread to other parts of Britain, as small boat arrivals across the Channel continue.