UK foreign policy

Netanyahu and Gaza – How Should Britain Respond?

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The Gaza Genocide has become an element in the long-planned continuation of the Greater Israel project, but it was initially an experiment. For Netanyahu, it was a test of the resolve of the western powers to uphold decades-old ideas about human rights and the ‘rules of war’ established after WWII, which were designed to protect civilians and outlaw the annexation of land occupied during hostilities. He must have been surprised when there was so little response when he started pushing the envelope, but as time went on it became apparent that with active American encouragement, and a more passive kind…

What Starmer Knew, and When

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The Mandelson–Epstein connection was public knowledge long before the 2024 election. The question of how the Prime Minister could claim ignorance deserves scrutiny. Keir Starmer’s claim that he was unaware of the depth of Peter Mandelson’s relationship with convicted child sex offender and trafficker Jeffrey Epstein when he appointed him British Ambassador to the United States in December 2024, at best occupies shaky ground. The evidence that Mandelson posed a serious reputational and security risk was not hidden in classified files. Much of it was sitting in plain sight, reported by national broadcasters and newspapers, and filed in open US…

The Glass House Secretary General – George of the Bungle

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George Robertson’s attack on the Starmer government ignores the seeds sown during his own tenure, or the 28-year trend that all parties have followed. When Lord George Robertson of Port Ellen took to the podium in Salisbury earlier this month to deliver the Edward Heath Annual Lecture, he did so with the moral authority of a man who had served as Secretary of State for Defence, who had led NATO for four years, and who had personally authored the current government’s Strategic Defence Review. His language was unsparing. Britain, he declared, was “underprepared, underinsured, under attack and not safe.” The…

Saving UNRWA Not Only Supports Palestine Refugees but Also the Rules‑Based Order

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The continuing existence of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees is in doubt. The UK is uniquely placed to take the initiative. I’d like to start with a question, one I put to some friends last week when, given that so many States are happy to disregard it, they scoffed at the so-called international rules-based order. ‘Would you prefer to live in a world bereft of even the most basic rules of conduct,’ I asked, ‘or would you prefer the body of international law to exist, even if so many States violate it with impunity?’ My…



