Kemi Badenoch's damning 13-word verdict on Keir Starmer after Israel decision

Kemi Badenoch has savaged Sir Keir Starmer's decision to suspend some arms sales to Israel.

In just 13 words the Shadow Housing Secretary and Tory leadership race contender summed up the reason for the move after accusing the Labour Government of acting out of fear.

She added: "They gave in to the mob and threw UK interests under the bus."

Ms Badenoch, writing in The Sun on Sunday, continued: "Whether it is the unions or protesters, Labour has shown time and time again that they have no courage and will take the knee when things get heated."

The North West Essex MP explained that in 2020 Sir Keir and his deputy, Angela Rayner, knelt in support of the Black Lives Matter movement "without any serious understanding" of the "divisive ideology" which she said portrays "blackness as victimhood and whiteness as oppression".

Foreign Secretary David Lammy announced on Monday (September 2) that the UK will suspend 30 out of 350 arms export licences to Israel due to a "clear risk" they might be used to commit or facilitate a "serious violation" of international humanitarian law.

Lord Evans of Rainow said a day later that it seemed clear to him that the reasoning behind the "shameful" announcement was nothing to do with humanitarian law.

He claimed it had everything to do with appeasing a vocal, left-wing, pro-Hamas minority which he said resides on Labour's backbenches in the House of Commons.

Mr Lammy's announcement came just hours after it emerged that the bodies of six Israeli hostages had been found by the Israeli Defence Forces in a tunnel in southern Gaza.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the Labour Government's "shameful" decision. He wrote in a post on X: "This shameful decision will not change Israel's determination to defeat Hamas, a genocidal terrorist organisation that savagely murdered 1,200 people on October 7, including 14 British citizens.

"Hamas is still holding over 100 hostages, including five British citizens. Instead of standing with Israel, a fellow democracy defending itself against barbarism, Britain's misguided decision will only embolden Hamas."

The continuing furore comes as Sir Keir prepares to visit Washington DC for his second face to face with US President Joe Biden on September 13.

Sir Keir on Sunday denied claims the US was angry at Britain over the arms decision, telling the BBC: "We have been talking to the US beforehand and afterwards.

"They are very clear that they have got a different legal system and they understand the decision that we have taken."

The PM said he had had a number of discussions with Mr Biden both in person and on the phone as well as with other allies" in recent weeks, adding his coming visit to the United States would focus on a "strategic discussion" about the next few months in Ukraine and the Middle East.

Meanwhile, three Israelis were shot and killed at the border crossing between the West Bank and Jordan on Sunday, according to Israeli officials.

It appeared to be an attack linked to the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. Israel's military said a gunman approached the Allenby Bridge Crossing from the Jordanian side in a truck and opened fire at Israeli security forces, who killed the assailant in a shootout.

Tel Aviv said the three people killed were Israeli civilians. Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue service said they were all men in their 50s. Jordan is investigating the shooting, according to its state-run Petra News Agency.

In Gaza, an Israeli airstrike early on the same day killed five people, including two women, two children and a senior official in the Civil Defence — first responders who operate under the Hamas-led government.

The Civil Defence said the strike targeted the home of its deputy director for north Gaza, Mohammed Morsi, in the urban Jabaliya refugee camp. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which says it tries to avoid harming civilians.

Gaza's Health Ministry maintains that over 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the war began. It does not differentiate between fighters and civilians in its count.

Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people in their attack in southern Israel on October 7.