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Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailCalls for Baroness Michelle Mone to be stripped of her peerage have intensified this week, following her admission in a recent interview that she lied to the media about her involvement in a company that supplied millions of pounds worth of PPE equipment to the government during the Covid pandemic.Leader of the opposition Sir Keir Starmer added significantly to the pressure, declaring: “I don’t think she should be in the Lords. I think the government should be held to account for this.”Meanwhile Rishi Sunak was more cautious: “The government takes these things incredibly seriously, which is why we’re pursuing legal action against the company concerned in these matters. That’s how seriously I take it and the government takes it.”Independent readers, however, were almost unanimous in their calls to remove Baroness Mone from the House of Lords when we asked for your opinions this week.Here’s what you had to say:‘Think about the bigger picture’Business is about who you know, not what you know a lot of the time in my experience and grabbing an opportunity whenever from whoever you can. Lying probably not a good idea in the scheme of things, but show me any business person that isn’t economic with truth when it suits, eh?Hindsight’s a wonderful thing and I wonder what else this government was supposed to do, given the circumstances where it turns out nobody knew what they were doing, took bad advice, ignored good advice all to end up with some disastrous mistakes.I just think folks need to step back, think about the bigger picture before making judgementsOWLDEGIT‘Morals of an alley cat’Why is it even questionable if she should be kicked out of the House of Lords? A proven liar, and a call to arms, really? She used an horrific situation for her and her family’s gain instead of doing good then lied throughout. Morals of an alley cat. Get her out!BJ4‘Hard-wired to be deceitful’Quite honestly, apart from a whacking donation to the Tories, I’ve no idea why Cameron elevated her to the Lord’s in the first place. Her contributions to the House averaged about one a year and she’s done little to contribute to anything except for her self-promotion and enrichment. Her morality compass is broken (if it ever existed – she apparently fessed up to lying on CV to get her first job). She has brought the House of Lords into serious dis-repute and she has repeatedly told lies to protect the secrecy of her offshore trust arrangements and wealth. She may well be excellent at flogging knickers and bras but I rather think she’s hard-wired to be deceitful, unethical, greedy and immoral.TheSnowQueen‘Integrity, honour and respect’I guess that depends on whether or not the HoL represents an ideological example of what the common person should be aspiring to and looking at for leadership.With members like Mone the example is not one of integrity, honour and respect.Freedom‘She should return the £60m’Yes, she should be thrown out. It is morally incorrect to knowingly make a profit out of the people. She should return the £60m and also the Medpro contract made void in regards to equipment not fit for purpose. All monies to be paid back to us, the tax payer.MrKnowitall‘She lied’“.. peer insists she ‘can’t see’ what was wrong with her actions “Just like Boris who still believes he has done nothing wrong in Partygate.Boris got kicked out of the HoC because he lied and in that respect Baroness Mone also should be kicked out of the HoL because she lied.Unless, of course, there is the ‘one rule to them, one rule to us’ clause being appliedRasputin007‘An institution which is long overdue for reform’She would remain Baroness Mone, even if barred from the House of Lords. It would take an act of parliament to remove this title and quite frankly barring her is no punishment. Her appearances and voting record in the House of Lords have been minimal. The English way is to hope these dodgy people just go away and stay out of the public eye. Lord Archer? Lady Porter? All distinctly unworthy recipients of high honours and both permanently absent from the House of Lords. Do we really want people like Michelle Mone determining which laws are passed in this country ? Probably not.The bigger question is what is the House of Lords for, apart from ennobling wealthy individuals who give money to political parties ? Its an institution which is long overdue for reform. Michelle Mone merely a symptom of this.Rantovani‘A huge profit from the public purse’If only Mone’s morals were as uplifting as the bras she made her money from. While public servants such as health workers and many others gave themselves selflessly in response to the COVID crisis, she and her husband took the opportunity of a huge profit from the public purse. Should she be in the House of Lords? ABSOLUTELY NOT!TheDisillusionedMasses‘Why lie?’She is a Peer of the Realm and in the House overseeing the laws made and enforced in the UK on all of us she should have already been removed.‘I told them what I had done’ – does not excuse her actions. It does implicate those that knew the details – they too should be brought to book.She admitted she lied about her involvement – if this were totally innocent why lie? She even went further by making threats of legal action against those questioning that lie.An apology after being caught, denying involvement and threatening legal action is not an apology it’s a hollow rouse to deflect and hardly a convincing sign of contrition. An apology that was followed by a statement that she did nothing wrong!ArcticFox‘Collective snouts in the trough’She absolutely should go, but then on the same token Sunak should go for the multiple times he’s given contracts to companies that happen to benefit his wife’s investments. Pretty much everyone else who used the “VIP Lane” needs some forensic accounting work on them as well (Hancock especially.)And if we’re going down this route people like Streeting taking cash from American private health companies should block him from running the NHS due to a clear conflict of interest.Will any of this happen? Of course not, because they’re all looking out for each other as usual so they can keep their collective snouts in the trough.Mike‘Stripped of their titles’She and the rest of the dodgy peers involved in corrupt activities need to be stripped of their titles even if it takes an act of Parliament. The same should apply to corrupt MPs, a simple and pointless apology in the Commons is not a punishment or deterrent.DisillusionedSome of the questions and answers have been edited for this article. You can read the full discussion in the comments section of the original article.The conversation isn’t over – there’s still time to have your say. If you want to share your opinion then add it in the comments of this story.All you have to do is sign up, submit your question and register your details – then you can then take part in the discussion. You can also sign up by clicking ‘log in’ on the top right-hand corner of the screen.Make sure you adhere to our community guidelines, which can be found here. For a full guide on how to comment click here. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailThe government has performed a partial climbdown on new visa rules critics claimed would tear couples and families apart. The move was one of a raft of measures designed to slash the number of immigrants by 300,000 a year. But ministers have postponed plans to allow only those earning £38,700 or above to bring their spouses to the UK. Instead, the threshold will still rise sharply in the spring, but to a lower figure of £29,000. The Liberal Democrats, who had dubbed the original plans the “family breakup bill”, accused the government of a “half thought through idea”. But Rishi Sunak faced a backlash from Tory MPs who called the move “deeply disappointing”. And a former Tory minister suggested No 10’s plans had been vetoed by the Treasury. Ex-health minister Lord Bethell said: “My children aren’t getting everything they asked for this [Christmas]. Seems it’s the same in Downing Street.” The crackdown was part of plans to cut net migration after it soared to nearly three-quarters of a million in 2022.Home Office minister Lord Sharpe of Epsom confirmed in answer to a written parliamentary question that the threshold would be raised in the spring to £29,000. James Cleverly insists net migration to the UK will drop The current level is £18,600, which means 75 per cent of the UK’s workers meet the requirement. If it was raised to £38,700 just 30 per cent would, Lord Sharpe also confirmed. No date was given for when the threshold would rise beyond £29,000. James Cleverly, the home secretary, insisted the Home Office would still reduce net legal migration by 300,000 a year, saying the British people were “rightly, frustrated and want to see action”.But Tory MP Jonathan Gullis said: “This decision is deeply disappointing and undermines our efforts [to control migration].”Yvette Cooper MP, the shadow home secretary, said: “This is more evidence of Tory government chaos on immigration and the economy.“On their watch, net migration has trebled as skills shortages have got worse and worse and they still have no proper plan to link the immigration system to training or workforce planning. They failed to consult anyone on their new proposals and took no account of the impact of steep spousal visa changes on families next year, so it’s no surprise they are now rowing back in a rush.”Ms Cooper said the government should seek advice on detailed policy changes from the migration advisory committee – experts on both immigration and the labour market.Lib Dem home affairs spokesperson Alistair Carmichael said: “You have to wonder who is in charge at the Home Office, or if anyone is. It was clear to everyone else that the raising of the earnings threshold was unworkable. This was yet another half thought through idea to placate the hardliners on their own back benches.“James Cleverly needs to put down the spade and stop digging. Decisions like this should be made by experts and politicians working together. He should also publish the advice from the Treasury and OBR [Office for Budget Responsibility] about the impact that his package of changes will have on the economy.” More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailRishi Sunak’s government has vowed to ban Premier League clubs from joining the European Super League, as the breakaway venture attempts a relaunch.The European Court of Justice ruled that Uefa and Fifa acted unlawfully by stopping the league – opening up fresh efforts by A22 Sports to kickstart the controversial project.The “big six” English clubs sparked outrage from their fans and opposition from Boris Johnson’s government in 2021 when they secretly agreed to play in the new league.Responding to Thursday’s bombshell court ruling, the Sunak government made clear that forthcoming legislation, the Football Governance Bill, would be used to block British clubs from joining any new league.A spokesperson for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) said the previous attempt to create a breakaway league was a “defining moment in English football and was universally condemned by fans, clubs and the government”.They said: “We took decisive action at the time by triggering the fan-led review of football governance, which called for the creation of a new independent regulator for English football.”The DCMS statement added: “We will shortly be bringing forward legislation that makes this a reality, and will stop clubs from joining any similar breakaway competitions in the future.”The April 2021 attempt to launch the ESL saw street protests by angry supporters Six Premier League clubs had signed up to the ESL plans – Liverpool, Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur – creating howls of outrage across the football world.A review led by former sports minister Tracey Crouch saw the government push forward plans for a new football regulator, with new legal powers to stop clubs from quitting current UK leagues to play in breakaway projects.When announced in April 2021, Mr Johnson pounced upon the unpopularity of the European Super League with fans and vowed to block the big English clubs from joining. The then PM condemned the idea as a “cartel” and said it was “against the basic principles of competition”.Although the ESL continues to be supported prominently by Real Madrid and Barcelona, England’s big six – chastened by the reaction two years ago – are believed to have gone cold on the plan.Manchester United said on Thursday that they remain “fully committed” to working within Premier League and Uefa structures. And the Premier League said it “continues to reject any concept” of a European Super League.‘Big six’ clubs were condemned for initial attempt to join the breakaway league England’s top flight division said it remains committed to the “clear principles of open competition” and said supporters “have time and again made clear their opposition to a “breakaway” competition”.The original plan was condemned for its attempt to attend fair competition by sealing off the elite clubs from the rest in a bid to protect lucrative TV deals.But the revamped plan set out by ESL’s backers A22 on Thursday proposed a wider system of 64 men’s clubs which would involve promotion and regulation through three tiers. A planned two-tier women’s league would involve 32 clubs.Following the landmark court ruling, the Football Supporters’ Association condemned what it called the “zombie” project. “There is no place for an ill-conceived breakaway super league … While the corpse might continue to twitch in the European courts, no English side will be joining.”Senior Conservative MP Dame Caroline Dinenage – chair of the culture, media and sport select committee – warned the big six clubs not to engage with the ESL’s fresh push to get off the ground.“The announcement of the European Super League in 2021 prioritised finances over fans, and any revival of it isn’t in the interests of English football,” she said.Backing the government’s plan to block clubs from joining, she added: “I hope that English clubs will have learnt from the reaction in 2021, and will be focused on fan engagement and the much-needed football governance reforms that the government has promised.” More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailJeremy Hunt has sought to give Tory MPs an early Christmas present with another hint he could cut taxes ahead of a general election next year.The chancellor suggested he could have more money to play with as the government pays less interest on its debt. Mr Hunt said ministers would “cut the tax burden if we are able to” in an interview with Bloomberg Television. However, he cautioned he would not do anything that risked fuelling inflation again. Mr Hunt is under intense pressure from MPs in his own party to cut taxes as they scramble to try to save their jobs. With Labour around 20 points ahead in the polls, some Conservatives feel the move is one of the few ways they can avoid wipeout at the election. Mr Hunt said: “If debt interest payments go down then potentially that gives me more headroom and I could use that in lots of different ways but I would never use it in a way that would compromise the battle against inflation.” “We would like to bring down the tax burden in a way that is responsible.”Mr Hunt announced what he said was the largest series of tax cutting measures since the 1980s in the autumn statement. But he came under fire when it emerged the overall tax burden was still on course to hit a post-war high. His latest comments on tax come a day after the government received an end of year boost as official figures showed the rate of inflation has fallen further than expected. But there was also bad news, as statistics revealed government borrowing was higher than forecast in November. Mr Hunt gave the interview as he struck a post-Brexit banking deal with Switzerland aimed at easing UK finance firms’ access to the country’s market and vice versa.It come as the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) urged Mr Sunak and Mr Hunt to consider a range of side and supplementary deals with the EU to ease ongoing trade friction.Almost two-thirds of UK exporters say selling to the EU has become even harder in the past year, according to the BCC’s latest Brexit report.The leading business group called for a series of agreements with Brussels – on carbon taxes, VAT arrangements and food checks – to soften the impact of Boris Johnson’s trade deal. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailKeir Starmer has not ruled out using nuclear weapons if he becomes Prime Minister next year as he visited British troops near the border with Russia.The Labour leader also appeared to suggest he could look at offshore processing to deal with migrants coming to the UK on small boats, saying he would “look at any credible option”. In a wide-ranging interview, he expressed concern for his family if he did move into No 10 but said he was ready for a spring election. And he said that he did know the meaning of ‘rizz’ – the newly crowned ‘word of the year’ denoting style or charm – but had forgotten. In 2015 the then Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said he would never use nuclear weapons as prime minister. At the time he was accused of putting at risk the UK’s relationship with Nato, which is a nuclear alliance. But visiting a Nato base in Estonia, Sir Keir did not rule out using nuclear weapons if he wins the keys to Downing Street. Asked during an interview with GB news if he would fire nuclear weapons to protect the UK, Sir Keir said: “The nuclear deterrent is very important to us. Obviously, I’m not going to discuss with you the circumstance in which they may or may not be used, but it is a very important part of the defence of our country that we are strongly committed to, along with our commitment to Nato and to the security of our nation, which is paramount.”He said: “There’s been an unshakable commitment to Nato ever since Nato was first created, which of course was under a Labour government. …There’s a real driving sense of purpose here with the troops that are here on the frontline.”Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer during his visit to meet British troops at Tapa forward operating Nato base, near the Russian border in Estonia (PA)Sir Keir said his “ambition” was to increase defence spending, adding “when the last Labour government was in power, it was 2.5 per cent”. He also said he had a a manifesto ready “when we need it” even if the election is just 19 weeks away, to coincide with May’s local elections.Days after the prime minister said the election would be in 2024, he added: “We are ready for a general election. I’ve had my whole team on a general election footing for some time now.”But he admitted he was concerned about the possible impact on his family, including his two teenage children. “I do worry about my family. If I’m honest, I’m very protective of my wife and our children,” he said.”We don’t name our children publicly. We don’t have photo shoots with them. And so I am very mindful of the impact it could have on them.”Our boy is 15, our girl is 13. These are, you know, ages where they’re going through huge change. But my aim is to keep protecting them in every way that I can.”He did not rule out looking at offshore processing to deal with asylum seekers coming to UK shores on small boats, saying he would “look at any credible option, but I think that at the moment, the single most important thing is to take out the gangs that are taking money to put people in those boats.”On taxation he said he would “go for growth rather than pulling the tax lever” and seek “to reduce the tax burden”. He also said Sunak’s government had “got this one wrong” after Ireland announced it plans to take the UK to court over plans to offer immunity to UK soldiers, among others, who served in Northern Ireland during the Troubles.Sir Keir expressed concern the plans had “no political support in Northern Ireland from any political party and most importantly when the victims and their families in Northern Ireland are not supportive”. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailVictoria Atkins was accused of insulting junior doctors after the health secretary said she liked to call them “doctors in training”.The Tory cabinet minister dangled the prospected of an improved offer on pay and conditions on the second day of junior doctors’ 72-hour strike.But Ms Atkins sparked outrage by using a different term for the group while speaking about pay deals agreed with other health service workers.“The last cohort is junior doctors – or doctors in training, as I prefer to call them – and they, sadly to my great disappointment, walked out of our negotiations and then called these strikes.”Senior Labour MP Chris Bryant immediately fired back at the health secretary on X: “They’re doctors. Doctors. Not doctors in training.”Labour’s shadow health secretary Wes Streeting tweeted: “I prefer to call them doctors.” And shadow care minister Andrew Gwynne added: “How insulting … They are doctors, they save lives every day.”Several commentators on social media also referred to Ms Atkins’ remarks as “insulting”. But Ms Atkins responded to the criticism by pointing to the fact that it was a term the British Medical Association (BMA) has used.While junior doctors do receive some clinical training while in the job, they are qualified doctors and Ms Atkins’ term “doctors in training” is not one used in the NHS.Health secretary Victoria Atkins hinted an improved offer on pay and conditions could be on the tableMs Atkins also sought to highlight splits between junior doctors’ leaders in the British Medical Association (BMA) and other NHS staff – claiming some were “deeply uncomfortable” with the industrial action over Christmas.But the health secretary hinted that an improved offer on pay and conditions could be on the table if the junior doctors called off the industrial action.She told BBC Breakfast that health department ministers and officials would be “back round the table in 20 minutes” for talks if the strikes are called off “and then we can see how much further we can go”.A 72-hour England-wide walkout, which began at 7am on 20 December and will run until Saturday, comes as the NHS grapples with one of its toughest winters on record. It will be followed by a six-day walkout from 3 January.The NHS has said emergency and urgent care will be prioritised during the strikes over Christmas and New Year and that “almost all” routine care will be affected.More than 300,000 operations and appointments are reportedly set to be cancelled during the strikes. It could push NHS waiting lists, currently at 7.7 million, above eight million for the first time ever, according to analysis by The Times.Hospital leaders have described the walkouts as their “worst fears realised” as they grapple with a rising number of people needing help with winter viruses, particularly norovirus.Ms Atkins told BBC Radio 4’s Today there will be “many, many doctors listening to this who feel deeply uncomfortable that their committee has called these strikes at this time”.Junior doctors who are members of the British Medical Association on the picket line in LondonShe said consultants, nurses and other doctors would be coming in to do extra shifts. “They are being expected by the junior doctors’ committee to pick up the slack of their strikes,” she added.“After the three Christmases that our medical profession has seen with Covid, I think we all wanted this Christmas to be as calm and settled as possible. Instead, this strike action is just striking through that.”The BMA’s junior doctors’ committee has challenged the government to make an offer first, so strikes could be cancelled.It said the offer from the government, an average 3 per cent rise from January – on top of the average of nearly 9 per cent recommended by the independent pay review body in April – was not enough to make up for below-inflation pay rises since 2008.It has asked for a full pay restoration that the government said would amount to a 35 per cent pay rise, which ministers have said is unaffordable. Conciliation service Acas said it is “ready to help” resolve the dispute.Elsewhere, Ms Atkins has written to the bodies which recommend salary uplifts for NHS staff to ask them to begin looking at the pay round for 2024/25 – but unions warned she had left it too late. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailSir Keir Starmer has backed calls to legalise assisted dying – signalling that a Labour government could support a new vote in parliament.The Labour leader said there were “grounds for changing the law” to let people who want to end their lives be given help under clinical controls.Dame Esther Rantzen has called for a Commons vote on assisted dying, after revealing that she has registered with the Dignitas clinic.The Childline founder and broadcaster, 83, has stage four lung cancer and earlier this week said she has joined the assisted dying facility in Switzerland.Sir Keir – who backed a change in the law when ending the ban was defeated in the Commons in 2015 – said on Thursday it deserved careful attention.“On the question of assisted dying, there are obviously strong views both ways on this, which I respect,” Sir Keir told reporters during his pre-Christmas visit to British troops in Estonia.“And that’s why traditionally, this has always been dealt with a private member’s bill and a free vote and that seems appropriate to me,” he said.He added: “I personally do think there are grounds for changing the law, we have to be careful – but it would have to be, I think, a free vote on an issue where there are such divided and strong views.”Keir Starmer is in Estonia to visit British troops Cabinet minister Mel Stride this week suggested he would support another free vote in parliament on legalising assisted dying.A bill to legalise assisted dying in the UK under strict controls was defeated, 330 votes to 118, in 2015. It is still banned in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with a maximum prison sentence of 14 years.Mr Stride said he “wouldn’t be adverse” to a fresh debate and vote in the Commons. The work and pensions secretary said he would want to take a “fresh look at it and come to a decision”.But he made clear that Rishi Sunak’s government was not bringing forward a fresh bill.Fellow cabinet minister Michael Gove, when asked about Dame Esther’s case, told reporters: “I’m not yet persuaded of the case for assisted dying – but I do think that it’s appropriate for the Commons to revisit this.”Asked about the issue on Thursday, health secretary Victoria Atkins said the issue was always treated as a “matter of conscience”, with MPs given a free vote.She initially declined to say whether she thought it was time for another, telling BBC Radio 4’s Today: “As health secretary, I think actually, it’s right that I don’t express an opinion on this.” But she added: “I think that if there was a will in parliament, it will happen.”Esther Rantzen has revealed she is considering assisted dying in Switzerland Dame Esther told BBC Radio 4 that she believed more people would want to choose the manner of their death if they were allowed – saying she would organise a free vote if she were PM.She also told the PA news agency: “I would say to parliamentarians: ‘Think of the people you love in your own life, maybe who are older, maybe who are unwell, and think how you would wish them to spend their last days and weeks’.“It is agonising to watch someone you love suffer. Nobody wants that for their family. And we live in a day and age when it’s perfectly possible to offer people a gentle, peaceful death.”Senior Tory Kit Malthouse, former minister at the Home Office, said he had been “working the tea rooms” in favour of a new vote.The co-chair of the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) on end-of-life choice said that “the sentiment in parliament has moved significantly since 2015”.In Scotland, it is not a specific criminal offence but assisting the death of someone can leave a person open to murder or other charges. Legislation is being put forward by Liberal Democrat MSP Liam McArthur, with the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill due to come before Holyrood next year.The health and social care committee is due to publish its report into assisted dying and assisted suicide in England and Wales, having launched an inquiry in December 2022 to examine different perspectives in the debate. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailDavid Cameron has called for a pause in the Gaza conflict “today” to get hostages out of the arms of Hamas. The Foreign Secretary also said “everything that can be done must be done” to get aid into the besieged enclave, including possibly using British ships to bring supplies by sea.The former prime minister, who made a surprise return to the cabinet last month, made the comments on an official visit to Egypt, a key player in the region. At the weekend the UK shifted its stance to back calls for a “sustained ceasefire” in the conflict, which ministers made clear cannot see Hamas remain in place. Previously Rishi Sunak had supported only “humanitarian pauses” and No 10 warned a ceasefire would aide only Hamas, who killed 1200 people on October 7. Lord Cameron said the UK was ‘pushing very hard’ to ensure aid supplies reach Gaza (Desouki Ismail/Egyptian Foreign Ministry Media Office/AP)“We want to see action,” he said during a joint press conference with the country’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry. “We want to see aid come from Jordan, we want to see aid come across maritime routes.”“In the meantime, I’m all in favour of pauses in the fighting so we can get hostages out and if we can have a pause today to start making that happen no one would be more delighted to me,” he added. “I want to see all the hostages released”.Lord Cameron also said the UK was “pushing very hard” to ensure aid supplies reach Gaza, both through the reopened Kerem Shalom border crossing and potentially by sea.”Are there opportunities for aid to come from Cyprus in British ships to be delivered to Gaza? We’re working on that.”Everything that can be done, must be done to get aid into Gaza to help people in the desperate situation they are in,” he said. Sir Keir Starmer said he backed Lord Cameron’s calls for a “sustainable ceasefire” in Gaza. The Labour leader also said he wanted a short-term pause in hostilities aimed at allowing more aid in and the release of hostages by Hamas.“I do support a sustainable ceasefire,” he told reporters on a trip to Estonia to visit British troops. “What we’re arguing for a return to the position that we were in just a few weeks ago where hostilities did cease.”Sir Keir added that his party is strongly in favour of a two-state solution to set up a Palestinian state – saying it should not be left “in the gift” of Israel.He said the last ceasefire “provided a foothold for a political process to actually resolve this in favour of a two-state solution … That has to be something which international partners are very, very clear about, and is not in the gift of Israel.” More