Keir Starmer‘s controversial decision to recognise a state of Palestine could lead to demands for the UK to pay more than £2 trillion in reparations to the country, legal experts have said.
Sir Keir has said the UK will press ahead with the move, which is expected to be announced ahead of his visit to the UN this week, unless Israel meets certain conditions, including agreeing to a ceasefire in Gaza and reviving the prospect of a two-state solution.
It has been condemned by Tory leader Kemi Badenoch for ‘rewarding terrorism’, while the US Government says that it will have ‘disastrous consequences’.
Now legal experts have warned that it could also be a costly decision – because the new country would ask for eye-watering damages in compensation for land ‘taken from the Palestinian people’ when Britain relinquished control of the region after the Second World War.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who has a long history of threatening to sue Britain, is demanding ‘reparations in accordance with international law’ based on the value of the land which was under British rule between 1917 and 1948.
Some international law experts have described £2 trillion, roughly the size of Britain’s total economy, as a ‘good place to start’.
Families of the hostages abducted by Hamas in the October 7 attacks have written to the Prime Minister to condemn the decision, which they claim has ‘dramatically complicated’ efforts to be reunited with their relatives.
In an open letter to Sir Keir, they said: ‘Your regrettable announcement of the UK’s intention to recognise a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly has dramatically complicated efforts to bring home our loved ones.
‘Hamas has already celebrated the UK’s decision as a victory and reneged on a ceasefire deal. We write to you with a simple plea – do not take this step until our loved ones are home and in our arms.’
Keir Starmer ‘s controversial decision to recognise a state of Palestine could lead to demands for the UK to pay more than £2 trillion in reparations to the country, legal experts have said. Pictured: A view of the Gaza Strip from a position at Israel’s border on Friday
Ilay David, brother of hostage Evyatar David, who was seen emaciated in a Hamas video last month, said: ‘Giving this recognition is like saying to Hamas: “It is OK, you can keep starving the hostages, you can keep using them as human shields.”
‘This kind of recognition gives Hamas power to be stubborn in negotiations. That is the last thing we need right now.’
Criticism also came from Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, who said: ‘Hamas and a Palestinian state are inseparable for now. This is typical of Starmer, he can’t really decide where he stands.
‘Whatever the caveats in his statement, this announcement is a surrender to terrorism and a betrayal of Israel.’
It is expected the government will look to impose sanctions on Hamas, after Sir Keir said during a joint conference with Donald Trump last week that the terror group could have no part in running an independent Palestine.
But this move has been branded as a a ‘feeble last-minute attempt’ to placate the US President by former Home Secretary Priti Patel.
Dame Priti told The Telegraph: ‘With the terrorist organisation Hamas still holding hostages in barbaric conditions and glorifying acts of terror, Starmer is sending a dangerous message, where violence and extremism are tolerated and rewarded.
‘Peace in the Middle East will never be secured by rewarding terrorists. His feeble last-minute attempts to appease the United States are shallow and will never justify his reckless decision on recognition.’
Congressional Republican leaders, including chairwoman Elise Stefanik and Senator Rick Scott, have sent a letter to the UK, France, Canada, Australia and other key allies about recognition.
‘This is a reckless policy that undermines prospects for peace,’ wrote Ms Stefanik and Mr Scott.
‘It sets the dangerous precedent that violence, not diplomacy, is the most expedient means for terrorist groups like Hamas to achieve their political aims.’
Tory justice spokesman Robert Jenrick called the move to seek possible reparations ‘a load of ahistorical nonsense’
Tory justice spokesman Robert Jenrick says reparations for Palestine would amount to ‘Chagos 2.0’, in reference to Sir Keir’s surrender of the islands to Mauritius – which leaked government documents reveal will cost UK taxpayers more than £35 billion to rent back from them.
Britain handed over the territory in the Indian Ocean in response to pressure from international courts, which pro-Israeli lawyers warn could act as a precedent.
The campaign group called Britain Owes Palestine has demanded an apology from Britain for ‘war crimes’ in the region.
Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy once supported calls for reparations for slavery, saying: ‘As a Caribbean people, we are not going to forget our history. We don’t want to just hear an apology, we want reparations,’ while the Government’s lawyer-in-chief, Lord Hermer, has given legal assistance to nations seeking reparations for slavery.
Lord Hermer’s advice resulted in a ‘ten-point plan for reparations’, as former colonies seek to seize up to £18trillion in compensation from the UK.
Mr Jenrick said: ‘Not a penny of taxpayer money should be spent on so-called reparations.
‘This is a load of ahistorical nonsense. Britain was, and remains, a force for good in the world – these ridiculous demands should be brushed aside.
‘Lord Hermer spent his career working against British interests.
‘Now Starmer’s appointed him to work at the heart of government and he’s undermining Britain from within – whether the Chagos surrender or the betrayal of veterans who served in Northern Ireland.
‘He simply cannot be trusted and should be sacked.’
