A minister has denied claims that Sir Keir Starmer could risk breaching international law with his pledge to recognise Palestine as a state.
Nearly 40 members of the House of Lords, including prominent UK lawyers, made the claims in a letter to Attorney General Lord Hermer yesterday.
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The letter, first reported by The Times, argues that Sir Keir’s promise to recognise Palestine in September – unless Israel takes “substantive steps” to end the situation in Gaza – may breach international law as the territory may not meet the criteria for statehood under the Montevideo Convention, a treaty signed in 1933.
But speaking to Wilfred Frost on Sky News Breakfast, small business minister Gareth Thomas said he did not believe the move, which has been condemned by Israel, would breach international law because the UK has not signed the Montevideo Convention.
He pointed out that 140 countries have already recognised Palestine as a state.
Mr Thomas said: “I respect the views of those lawyers, but in the end, recognition of a state is a political judgement.
“And we’ve been very clear that our judgement is that the Palestinians have an inalienable right to statehood; that now is the right time to say publicly that we will recognise the state of [Palestine] unless Israel agrees to end the appalling violence that we’re seeing in Gaza at the moment, and commits to a two state solution.”
He added: “And the ceasefire that can enable the huge amounts of aid we need to get aid and to feed the people of Gaza and commits to no annexation of land in the West Bank. Otherwise, we will recognise, at the UN General Assembly in September.”
