Ban on goods from occupied West Bank would help protect two-state solution, says Emily Thornberry – UK politics live

An attack on a Barclays Bank by five people from the Palestine Action group will not be treated as terrorism when they are sentenced, a judge has ruled.

Palestine Action was not proscribed as a terror group at the time of the attack when the group targeted the Barclays branch on St James’s Street in Burnley, Lancashire, on ۵ August ۲۰۲۴.

The defendants, dubbed the “Barclays five”, claimed the ۲am attack was designed to pressure Barclays into withdrawing financial support for weapons manufacturer Elbit Systems, a firm based in Israel. The defendants said that they did not realise that their cases would be considered as terrorism until after they were found guilty, Guardian journalist Raphael Boyd has reported.

The jury that found them guilty of criminal charges were also unaware that such a consideration was a possibility.

Pro-Palestinian group Palestine Action was proscribed as a terrorist organisation in July ۲۰۲۵ and has been behind a string of direct action protests targeting Elbit due to the firm’s links to the Israeli military.

But Judge Robert Altham, the Recorder of Preston, ruled section ۶۹ of the Sentencing Act, establishing a terror link to the criminal damage offence, did not apply – so the defendants will face lesser sentences when they are dealt with.

Judge Altham said while the damage was substantial, it was not of the size of other attacks or on a sensitive property, such as an arms firm, as has happened during previous Palestine Action action. He said:

“Whilst the damage is undoubtedly significant, I’m not satisfied it amounts to serious damage for the purposes of the Terrorism Act.

“Section ۶۹ does not apply in this case.”

The judge’s decision means all five defendants will still be sentenced next month at Preston Crown Court for criminal damage in the attack costing £۲۰۰,۰۰۰.

About ۱۰۰ supporters, many waving the red, white, black and green flag of Palestine, cheered and banged drums on the steps outside as the defendants left court.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said the issue of settlers in the West Bank is coming to the fore ahead of elections in Israel, with “small extremist parties dictating policy”.

Speaking to the BBC, Badenoch said:

Israel has a political issue with the elections coming up, and this is what happens in systems with proportional representation.

You have small extremist parties dictating policy, the tail effectively wagging the dog, and that’s why I’m very much against creating a proportional representation system in our country.

The Home Office could be blocked from deporting many young male trafficking victims to Albania after a major court ruling.

Thousands of Albanian males have been identified as potential trafficking victims in the UK in recent years. Many are sent back to their country even if they are potential or confirmed victims of trafficking, as the Home Office contends they will be safe there.

The ruling is likely to come as a significant blow to the government, which is trying to increase the number of people it removes.

Albanians have been the most common nationality forcibly removed from the UK in the last five years, with ۲,۲۴۷ deported in the ۱۲ months to the end of March, accounting for a quarter of enforced returns, according to UK government figures.

Read more:

After Emily Thornberry’s call for the government to ban goods from the occupied West Bank (see post at ۱۱:۰۵), Peter Beaumont and Quique Kierszenbaum report on how Israeli settler attacks in areas designated for a future Palestinian state and currently under direct Palestinian control have almost doubled since ۲۰۲۵.

They wrote:

According to a report by the Israeli human rights organisation Yesh Din, shared with the Guardian, data shows that almost two-thirds of incidents of settler violence so far in ۲۰۲۶ have taken place in the so-called Areas A and B – placed under Palestinian Authority governance in the ۱۹۹۵ Oslo accords.

The report, The Next Frontier, Violence by Israeli Civilians in Areas A and B, describes the “rapid shift” in “violence and pressure exerted by the government, military and settlers on Palestinians … from Area C into Areas B and even A”.

Read more:

Prime minister Andy Burnham is deploying Whitehall officials to mayors’ offices as part of his bid to shift powers out of Westminster.

The move will see between five and ۱۰ civil servants seconded per mayoral authority in the pilot starting in the autumn, PA reported.

The ۱۸ mayors taking part in the initial programme will be able to request staff with particular skills as needed for the secondments lasting six to nine months.

Burnham said:

No ۱۰ North is putting more power into every postcode across the country so communities can unleash and unlock their own potential.

I’m bringing together mayors from different political parties to work on these challenges, because people deserve problem-solving rather than point-scoring.

The prime minister held a virtual meeting with mayors from his No ۱۰ North outpost in Manchester on Friday morning.

First secretary of state Louise Haigh said:

The days of Westminster hoarding power are over.

This government has kickstarted the biggest transition of power and resources in a generation, taking it from Whitehall and putting it back in the hands of local communities.

Members of the public could see actors dressed as armed police and simulated emergencies at the Houses of Parliament when filming takes place this weekend.

Production company Bad Wolf, behind shows including Doctor Who, His Dark Materials and Industry, will be filming at locations around the parliamentary estate and on the River Thames on ۲۲ August and ۲۳.

Specialist vehicles will also be in the area as part of the production. Signs will be displayed to warn that filming is taking place, PA reported.

Bad Wolf is reportedly developing a Netflix series called The Lords’ Day about a siege inside the famous building. The series, adapted from Michael Dobbs’s novel, takes place during the State Opening of Parliament.

A UK parliament spokesperson said:

A licensed film production is taking place on and around parts of the parliamentary estate over the weekend.

Members of the public may see actors portraying armed police officers, specialist vehicles and simulated incidents as part of the filming.

These activities are part of a controlled and authorised production, and there is no incident or emergency on the parliamentary estate.

A bit more here from Emily Thornberry, who earlier urged the government to introduce a ban on goods from the occupied West Bank amid rising settler violence.

Speaking to Sky News, the head of the foreign affairs select committee said:

The international community have agreed that the Palestinians are going nowhere, the Israelis are going nowhere.

There need to be two territories, two countries, so that they can live side-by-side, and what’s known as the West Bank is the part that the international community have pretty much unanimously agreed is the area that should be for the Palestinians.

We have a far-right government in Israel which is doing its best to try to extinguish the hope of a Palestinian state by building as many Israeli settlements on that area as possible.

She added:

A year ago my committee said that we should stop allowing the sale of goods from the West Bank in Britain and the government is yet to do anything about that.

We must acknowledge that this is occupied Palestinian land, and while the occupation continues, then goods that come from businesses that are benefiting from an illegal occupation of Palestinian land should not be bought in Britain. It’s not too much to ask.

It is a national scandal that survivors of terrorist attacks are still being “mistreated and neglected”, campaigners have said as the UK marked the first dedicated memorial day for victims.

Brendan Cox, husband of murdered MP Jo Cox, said the findings of a report he co-authored “lays bare the scale of failure” on some issues facing survivors.

“The public expect survivors to be cared for, today’s report shows that is a promise only being half kept,” he added.

Founded in ۲۰۱۸, Survivors Against Terror (SAT) proposed a “survivors charter” based on support provided in other countries, PA reported.

The principle underlying the charter was that the state has a particular responsibility to survivors of terror attacks as the targets are in most cases “not targets themselves, but are proxies for the state”.

“Many other countries acknowledge that principle and the extra responsibility that that brings. It’s time we saw that systemic shift here too”, SAT said.

The head of the foreign affairs select committee has urged the government to introduce a ban on goods from the occupied West Bank amid rising settler violence.

Emily Thornberry said a ban would help shore up the chance of a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine, PA reported.

She said it was at risk of being lost by actions from the Israeli government and settlers trying to force Palestinians off their own land in the West Bank.

Thornberry said that while she did not agree on a full ban on Israeli goods, she thought a ban on those from the West Bank would be part of a deterrent. She also said British money should not be funding settler expansion in the area.

The foreign secretary, Ed Miliband, rebuked Israel on Thursday after it published a tender for the construction of a settlement in the occupied West Bank. Miliband said was an “unacceptable act” which would “destroy” the two-state solution.

Three Conservative council leaders in London have written to Andy Burnham, accusing the government of “devolving blame” for council tax hikes, PA reported.

The leaders of Westminster, Wandsworth and Kensington + Chelsea councils say they are being forced to significantly increase council tax or slash services to plug a hole left by cuts to central government funding.

It comes after the “fair funding” review of council allocations resulted in a formula that redirects cash to more deprived areas.

Shadow local government secretary James Cleverly said Londoners are facing a “Burnham penalty on their council tax”.

The Tories are calling for local government secretary Angela Rayner to urgently review the funding changes that they say are “set to worsen the lives of local residents across London and the south-east”.

However, a government spokesperson said they are “fixing an outdated funding system” whereby some of the wealthiest parts of the country “benefited from exceptionally high levels of government support, while communities facing greater pressures lost out”.

They added that the reforms make the system “fairer for taxpayers across the country”.

Footage has captured the moment French police officers clashed with people on a beach in northern France as the authorities attempted to intercept a dinghy attempting to reach the UK.

Men wearing lifejackets appear to throw objects at the police to try to keep them away from their dinghy. The officers then use Pava spray before slashing the inflatable boat with a knife.

The footage has emerged as the French government said it has prevented ۱۸۵ “small boat crossing events” in the three months since a new £۶۶۰m UK-France deal.

A small boat event is defined as stopping launches, seizing equipment including boats, engines and lifejackets, and arresting smugglers.

Since the signing of the deal in April, extra police units have been active on French beaches, including a ۵۰-person riot squad.

Police action has included interceptions on beaches and at sea, the UK Home Office said.

Since March, ۱۲ “taxi boats” have been stopped from moving further up the coast and loading more migrants.

More resources have also been dedicated to seizing boats and engines before they can be used in the Channel.

Heather Stewart

The UK government ran a larger than expected £۱.۸bn deficit in July, underlining the challenges facing the chancellor, John Healey, as he draws up his first budget.

City economists had expected a shortfall of zero for July, a month when Treasury receipts tend to be swollen by self-assessment income tax payments.

At £۱۷.۱bn, the self-assessment tax paid in July was £۱.۷bn higher than the same month last year. However, the Office for National Statistics said the government still ran a £۱.۸bn deficit, as “spending growth outpaced receipts”.

In the first four months of this financial year the cumulative deficit was £۵۶.۷bn – lower than last year but still running £۲.۳bn ahead of the Office for Budget Responsibility forecast.

Healey will announce his budget on ۲۸ October. The public finances are expected to be gloomier than forecast at Rachel Reeves’s spring statement in March, when the Iran war had only just begun.

Hello and welcome to the UK politics live blog.

Prime minister Andy Burnham will be working from No ۱۰ North in Manchester today, where he will chair what some in government are referring to as the “growth situation room”.

He will be working alongside his chancellor John Healey, first secretary of state Lou Haigh, housing secretary Angela Rayner and housing minister Sally Jameson, while regional mayors and exchequer secretary Dan Tomlinson will be expected to dial in.

It comes as the government ran a larger than expected £۱.۸bn deficit in July. City economists had expected a shortfall of zero for July, a month when Treasury receipts tend to be swollen by self-assessment income tax payments.

At £۱۷.۱bn, the self-assessment tax paid in July was £۱.۷bn higher than the same month last year. However, the Office for National Statistics said the government still ran a £۱.۸bn deficit, as “spending growth outpaced receipts”.

In the first four months of this financial year the cumulative deficit was £۵۶.۷bn – lower than last year but still running £۲.۳bn ahead of the Office for Budget Responsibility forecast.

Although Burnham is not expected to do any media following the meeting at No ۱۰ North, Politico reports that announcements are expected. We will bring you news of those if that is indeed the case.

In other developments:

• Burnham said yesterday that fly-tippers will be forced to pay for the clean-up when they dump waste illegally. The prime minister laid out his plans to crackdown on waste crimes as he visited an illegal dump in West Yorkshire.

• Racism and sexism have become normalised in Britain, the equalities minister has said, as she warned that young men were being sucked into violent misogyny by the “cesspit” of social media. Bridget Phillipson said she was increasingly worried about how commonplace misogyny and racism had become, fuelled by online interactions and statements by politicians she said would not have been acceptable a few years ago.

• Phillipson suggested her sweeping reforms to special educational needs provision could be adapted to give parents greater protections if they are unhappy about the service being provided for their children. The former education secretary told the Guardian ministers were open to making changes to the plans, which were announced earlier this year but which have since been subject to consultation.

• Education Lucy Powell on Thursday addressed the GCSE gender gap, which shrank to its narrowest point this century. Almost one in four boys in England received top grades in maths while results in English improved across the board. “The white working-class review that was recently done, that was one things it found, that more boys need to see the purpose of education, they need to see the line of sight into work,” Powell told the Press Association.

• Meanwhile, Burnham told reporters that funding for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s security arrangements on their return to the UK was a “private matter”, the Press Association reports. Harry and Meghan are expected to return to live in Britain later this month. After six years in the US, they will be moving with their two children, Prince Archie, seven, and Princess Lilibet, five, to a non-royal residence outside London.