Sir Keir Starmer is expected to announce the UK's recognition of a Palestinian state in a statement on Sunday afternoon.

The move comes after the prime minister said in July the UK would shift its position in September unless Israel met conditions including agreeing to a ceasefire in Gaza and committing to a long-term sustainable peace deal that delivers a two-state solution.

It represents a major change in British foreign policy after successive governments said recognition should come as part of a peace process and at a time of maximum impact.

The move has drawn fierce criticism from the Israeli government, hostage families and some Conservatives.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu previously said such a move "rewards terror".

However, UK ministers argue there was a moral responsibility to act to keep the hope of a long-term peace deal alive.

Government sources said the situation on the ground had worsened significantly in the last few weeks. They cited images showing starvation and violence in Gaza, which the prime minister has previously described as "intolerable".

Israel's latest ground operation in Gaza City, described by a UN official as "cataclysmic", has forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee.

Earlier this week, a United Nations commision of inquiry concluded Israel had committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, which Israel denounced as "distorted and false".

Ministers also highlighted the continued expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, which are illegal under international law, as a key factor in the decision to recognise Palestinian statehood.

Justice Secretary David Lammy, who was foreign secretary in July when the path to recognition was announced, cited the controversial E1 settlement project which critics warn would put an end to hopes for a viable, contiguous Palestinian state.

He said: "The recognition of a Palestinian state is as a consequence of the serious expansion that we're seeing in the West Bank, the settler violence that we're seeing in the West Bank, and the intention and indications that we're seeing to build for example the E1 development that would run a coach and horses through the possibility of a two-state solution."

Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas welcomed the UK's recognition pledge when he visited Sir Keir earlier this month, with Downing Street saying both leaders had agreed Hamas had no role in future governance of Palestine.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said she wanted to see a two-state solution in the Middle East.

But writing in The Telegraph over the weekend, she said: "It is obvious, and the US has been clear on this, that recognition of a Palestinian state at this time and without the release of the hostages, would be a reward for terrorism."

Meanwhile, in an open letter to Sir Keir on Saturday, family members of some of the hostages taken by Hamas urged the Prime Minister not to take the step until the remaining 48, of whom 20 are believed to still be alive, had been returned.

The announcement of the forthcoming recognition had "dramatically complicated efforts to bring home our loved ones", they wrote. "Hamas has already celebrated the UK's decision as a victory and reneged on a ceasefire deal."

During a state visit to the UK this week, US President Donald Trump also said he disagreed with recognition.

Sir Keir had set a deadline of the UN General Assembly meeting, which takes place this week, for Israel to take "substantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza, agree to a ceasefire and commit to a long-term, sustainable peace, reviving the prospect of a two-state solution".

Speaking in July, he said: "I've always said we will recognise a Palestinian state as a contribution to a proper peace process, at the moment of maximum impact for the two-state solution.

"With that solution now under threat, this is the moment to act."

A number of other countries including Portugal, France, Canada and Australia have also said they will recognise a Palestinian state, while Spain, Ireland and Norway took the step last year.

Palestine is currently recognised by around 75% of the UN's 193 member states, but has no internationally agreed boundaries, no capital and no army - making recognition largely symbolic.

The two-state solution refers to the creation of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as its capital. Israel currently occupies both the West Bank and Gaza, meaning the Palestinian Authority is not in full control of its land or people.

Recognising a Palestinian state has long been a cause championed by many within the Labour Party. The PM has been under mounting pressure to take a tougher stance on Israel, particularly from MPs on the left of his party.

Shortly before he gave his speech in July, more than half of Labour MPs signed a letter calling for the government to immediately recognise a Palestinian state.

However, critics questioned why the government had appeared to put conditions on Israel but not on Hamas, when it set out its path to recognition.

The Chief Rabbi, Sir Ephraim Mirvis, called on the government to pause its decision.

"The intended recognition is not contingent upon a functioning or democratic Palestinian government, nor even upon the most basic commitment to a peaceful future," he said.

"Astonishingly, it is not even conditional upon the release of the 48 hostages who remain in captivity."

Government sources insisted their demands for Hamas to release the hostages and agree to a ceasefire had not changed.

But officials in the Foreign Office argued statehood was a right of the Palestinian people and could not be dependent on Hamas, which the government views as a terrorist organisation.

Speaking on Thursday when he hosted President Trump at Chequers, Sir Keir reiterated that Hamas could play "no part" in any future Palestinian state.

The Israeli military launched its Gaza campaign in response to the unprecedented Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken hostage.

At least 64,964 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since then, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.

Rohan Mehta - not his real name - spent over $8,000 (£5,900) on flights in his scramble to get back to the US ahead of a deadline that would dramatically increase visa fees for some.

He had been in Nagpur, India for the anniversary of his father's death before he cut his trip short.

On Friday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order adding a $100,000 (£74,000) fee for applicants to the visa programme for skilled foreign workers which US-based companies would have to pay.

Companies and immigration lawyers had already advised those on the H-1B visa who were outside the US to return before the order came into force Sunday.

A day later, the White House clarified it would be a one-time fee and would not apply to current visa holders, but it was too late for some.

Workers from India receive by far the most skilled visas in the programme, at more than 70% of the 85,000 issued each year.

Despite the clarification posted on X by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, concern and confusion had already spread.

The BBC spoke to many H-1B visa holders from India.

Many have been working in the US for decades.

None wanted to be identified as they were not authorised by their employers. Many refused to speak to us entirely.

Rohan Mehta, a software professional, has lived in the US with his family for 11 years but had travelled to Nagpur at the beginning of the month to see relatives commemorating his father's death.

But on 20 September, he said he feared he would not be able to return to his home if he did not get back before the deadline.

He spent over $8,000 (£5,900) in eight hours booking and rebooking return flights to the US.

"I booked multiple options because most were cutting it very close," he said just after he had boarded a Virgin Atlantic flight from Mumbai to John F. Kennedy International Airport.

"Even if there was a slight delay, I'd have missed the deadline."

• Trump adds $100,000 fee for skilled worker visa applicants
• India warns H-1B visa fee will have 'humanitarian consequences'

In its clarification, the White House said the new fee, which is more than 60 times the amount currently charged, would not be enforced until the next round of visa applications was approved.

Rohan Mehta described the last few days as "traumatic" adding he was glad his wife and daughter had not come to India with him on this trip.

"I'm regretting the choices I've made in life. I gave the prime of my youth to working for this country [the US] and now I feel like I'm not wanted.

"My daughter has spent her entire life in the US. I'm not sure how I'll uproot my life from there and start all over in India."

The H-1B is a work visa programme for people looking to work in the US in specialised fields and roles. Employers are able to sponsor professionals to get them into the country with a job offer required for the application.

According to government statistics, the greatest beneficiary of the programme the previous fiscal year was Amazon, followed by tech giants Tata, Microsoft, Meta, Apple and Google.

Another visa holder who was on holiday in Europe agreed there was confusion.

"We are yet to see how employers are thinking and how this will play out.

"From my understanding, the order is only for new H-1B visas. Immigration lawyers are still figuring it out and have advised us to go back."

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt posted on X clarifying some details including that it would not be an annual fee, just a one-off.

She wrote: "Those who already hold H-1B visas and are currently outside of the country right now will not be charged $100,000 to re-enter.

"H-1B visa holders can leave and re-enter the country to the same extent as they normally would."

She added that the new fee would only apply to "new visas, not renewals, and not current visa holders".

Air travellers are facing another day of disruption at several European airports including Heathrow, after a cyber-attack knocked out a check-in and baggage system.

There were hundreds of delays on Saturday after the software used by several airlines failed, with affected airports boarding passengers using pen and paper.

Brussels Airport said it had "no indication yet" when the system would be functional again and had asked airlines to cancel half their departing flights.

RTX, which owns software provider Collins Aerospace, said it was "aware of a cyber-related disruption" to its system in "select airports" and that it hoped to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.

It identified its Muse software - which allows different airlines to use the same check-in desks and boarding gates at an airport, rather than requiring their own - as the system that had been affected.

The company has yet to disclose what went wrong or how long it expects the outage to last.

Heathrow said on Sunday that efforts to resolve the issue were ongoing.

It apologised to those who had faced delays but stressed that "the vast majority of flights have continued to operate", urging passengers to check their flight status before travelling to the airport and arrive in good time.

The BBC understands that British Airways has continued to operate as normal at the airport using a back-up system, but that most other airlines that service it had been affected by the outage.

There were hours-long queues on Saturday and some 47% of Heathrow's departing flights were delayed, according to flight tracker FlightAware. Additional staff were at hand in check-in areas to help minimise disruption.

Lucy Spencer told the BBC that she had queued to check in for a Malaysia Airlines flight for more than two hours, and that staff had been checking passengers in over the phone.

Another passenger, Monazza Aslam, said she had to wait since the early hours of the morning with her elderly parents, and that the delays meant they had missed their connecting flight.

Brussels Airport said manual check-in would continue on Sunday and that extra staff had been drafted in to help minimise disruption.

It said 44 departing flights had been cancelled so far on Sunday, and that it anticipated long queues at check-in and further delays.

Europe's combined aviation safety organisation, Eurocontrol, said airline operators had been asked to cancel half their flight schedules to and from the airport until 02:00 on Monday due to the disruption.

Meanwhile, Dublin Airport said that while the technical issues persisted and some airlines were continuing to check in manually, it was expecting to operate a full schedule on Sunday.

A spokesperson told the BBC: "Passengers are advised to contact their airline directly for updates on their flight."

Berlin Brandenburg Airport is asking travellers to use online or self-service check-in instead of the desks while the outage is ongoing.

It said there had been eight cancellations in and out of the airport on Saturday, but that delays were generally less than 45 minutes.

EasyJet and Ryanair, which do not operate out of Heathrow but are among Europe's biggest airlines, said on Saturday that they were operating as normal.

A National Cyber Security Centre spokesperson said on Saturday that it was working with Collins Aerospace, affected UK airports, the Department for Transport and law enforcement to fully understand the impact of the incident.

The European Commission, which plays a role in managing airspace across Europe, said it was "closely monitoring the cyber-attack", but that there was no indication it had been "widespread or severe".

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander also said she was aware of the incident and was "getting regular updates and monitoring the situation".

It was only last July that a global IT crash due to a faulty software update from cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike caused disruption to aviation, grounding flights across the US.

Analysts said at the time that the incident highlighted how the industry could be vulnerable to issues with digital systems.

Charities and universities have criticised the UK government's "excessively harsh" rules preventing university students from Gaza bringing their families with them to Britain.

Last week, 34 Gaza students with scholarships at British universities were evacuated ahead of starting their studies.

But some students said they would have to give up their places rather than leave family in Gaza, after learning tighter immigration rules barred them from bringing dependents.

Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy said the government wanted "to bring people who are able to study, not to cause them further pain or hardship" by making students leave family behind.

Chief Executive of the Refugee Council Enver Solomon said: "it is excessively harsh to tell students fleeing the appalling devastation in Gaza that while they can study safely here, they must leave their loved ones behind.

"No one should be forced to choose between their education and their family.

"The government should urgently reconsider and ensure families can stay together in safety."

Oxford University said it was "very concerned" about the impact of current restrictions on student dependents, which it said "risks preventing talented Gazan scholars with very young children and babies from taking up their places".

Scottish Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth said she demanded a meeting with foreign secretary Yvette Cooper, saying the Holyrood government "cannot comprehend why these families are not being allowed to travel and stay together in safety in the UK".

"On a humanitarian level, given the horrors that these people have endured, there is a moral imperative that this ask is honoured," she said.

The evacuation of 34 students follows months of campaigning by politicians, academics, and others on behalf of more than 100 Palestinian students holding offers from UK universities this year.

The group includes members of the Chevening Scholarship, a mostly government-funded scheme for international students to study a one-year master's degree in the UK.

The BBC understands a maximum of 20 children this year would come to the UK if dependents of Chevening scholars were to be allowed.

At least one exception is known to have been granted by Yvette Cooper when she was home secretary, who allowed a female Chevening scholar to bring her two-year-old child.

For Manar Al-Houbi, taking up her PhD place at Glasgow University would mean leaving her three young children and her husband behind in Gaza.

"We are a family, we are one unit, we cannot be separated", she told the BBC, speaking as a military plane flew over her tent in Khan Younis.

Ms Al-Houbi said she had completed her masters degree in the UK in 2018 "and it was one of the most difficult periods in all my life because I was separated from my family, so I decided not to repeat this experience".

As part of a crackdown on immigration, most international students are now not allowed to bring their dependents with them to the UK - but PhD students are still able to bring their families.

In Ms Al-Houbi's case, the BBC understands that while her children are eligible for a visa to come to the UK, they are not eligible to be evacuated from Gaza.

Ms Al-Houbi said she learned she would not be able to bring her children "only days before our evacuation".

She added: "It was very difficult time for me to know that I have to choose between my family and my education.

"It's impossible for me to be separated from them - I can't be separated from my husband and my children".

Lammy told Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg that the government is "actually dependent on Israeli permissions to bring people out and that has not been easy to get".

But he added that the UK's intention was "to bring people who are able to study - not to cause them further pain or hardship" by having to leave their families behind.

Last week, a group of severely ill children arrived in the UK from Gaza for urgent NHS specialist medical care.

Israel launched a major ground offensive on Gaza City on Tuesday.

On the same day, a United Nations commission of inquiry found Israel had committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

Israel's foreign ministry said it categorically rejected the report, denouncing it as "distorted and false".

Israel launched its war in Gaza in response to an attack led by Hamas militants on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

At least 65,141 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since then, according to the territory's health ministry.

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Air travellers are facing another day of disruption at several European airports including Heathrow, after a cyber-attack knocked out a check-in and baggage system.

There were hundreds of delays on Saturday after the software used by several airlines failed, with affected airports boarding passengers using pen and paper.

Brussels Airport said it had "no indication yet" when the system would be functional again and had asked airlines to cancel half their departing flights.

RTX, which owns software provider Collins Aerospace, said it was "aware of a cyber-related disruption" to its system in "select airports" and that it hoped to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.

It identified its Muse software - which allows different airlines to use the same check-in desks and boarding gates at an airport, rather than requiring their own - as the system that had been affected.

The company has yet to disclose what went wrong or how long it expects the outage to last.

Heathrow said on Sunday that efforts to resolve the issue were ongoing.

It apologised to those who had faced delays but stressed that "the vast majority of flights have continued to operate", urging passengers to check their flight status before travelling to the airport and arrive in good time.

The BBC understands that British Airways has continued to operate as normal at the airport using a back-up system, but that most other airlines that service it had been affected by the outage.

There were hours-long queues on Saturday and some 47% of Heathrow's departing flights were delayed, according to flight tracker FlightAware. Additional staff were at hand in check-in areas to help minimise disruption.

Lucy Spencer told the BBC that she had queued to check in for a Malaysia Airlines flight for more than two hours, and that staff had been checking passengers in over the phone.

Another passenger, Monazza Aslam, said she had to wait since the early hours of the morning with her elderly parents, and that the delays meant they had missed their connecting flight.

Brussels Airport said manual check-in would continue on Sunday and that extra staff had been drafted in to help minimise disruption.

It said 44 departing flights had been cancelled so far on Sunday, and that it anticipated long queues at check-in and further delays.

Europe's combined aviation safety organisation, Eurocontrol, said airline operators had been asked to cancel half their flight schedules to and from the airport until 02:00 on Monday due to the disruption.

Meanwhile, Dublin Airport said that while the technical issues persisted and some airlines were continuing to check in manually, it was expecting to operate a full schedule on Sunday.

A spokesperson told the BBC: "Passengers are advised to contact their airline directly for updates on their flight."

Berlin Brandenburg Airport is asking travellers to use online or self-service check-in instead of the desks while the outage is ongoing.

It said there had been eight cancellations in and out of the airport on Saturday, but that delays were generally less than 45 minutes.

EasyJet and Ryanair, which do not operate out of Heathrow but are among Europe's biggest airlines, said on Saturday that they were operating as normal.

A National Cyber Security Centre spokesperson said on Saturday that it was working with Collins Aerospace, affected UK airports, the Department for Transport and law enforcement to fully understand the impact of the incident.

The European Commission, which plays a role in managing airspace across Europe, said it was "closely monitoring the cyber-attack", but that there was no indication it had been "widespread or severe".

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander also said she was aware of the incident and was "getting regular updates and monitoring the situation".

It was only last July that a global IT crash due to a faulty software update from cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike caused disruption to aviation, grounding flights across the US.

Analysts said at the time that the incident highlighted how the industry could be vulnerable to issues with digital systems.

Veteran broadcaster John Stapleton has died at the age of 79 after being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, his agent has said.

The presenter, who featured widely on programmes including the BBC's Watchdog and GMTV's News Hour and began his career at the Oldham Chronicle, died in hospital on Sunday morning.

His condition was complicated by pneumonia, his agent said.

Jackie Gill said "his son Nick and daughter-in-law Lisa have been constantly at his side and John died peacefully in hospital".

A range of tributes have been paid to Stapleton, including form Good Morning Britain presenter Charlotte Hawkins, who described him as a "brilliant broadcaster" and a "genuinely lovely man".

Newsreader Mark Austin said his death was "incredibly sad".

"A good man and top presenter who could turn his hand to anything. Best wishes to his family," he said.

Stapleton revealed his diagnosis in television interviews in October 2024.

Appearing on ITV's Good Morning Britain, he said: "There's no point in being miserable. It won't ever change.

"I mean, Parkinson's is here with me now for the rest of my life. Best I can do is try and control it and take the advice of all the experts."

Stapleton presented BBC's Watchdog with his wife Lynn from 1985 to 1993.

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