Israel-Hamas war: Sir Keir Starmer car mobbed by pro-Palestine protesters as police intervene after Chatham House speech

Sir Keir Starmer has battled to maintain Labour discipline with members of his frontbench in open revolt about his stance on the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Police were forced to intervene after pro-Palestinian protesters mobbed Sir Keir Starmer’s car.

The Labour leader, who had just delivered a speech defending his approach to the crisis, was ushered into the back of a waiting Land Rover Discovery as protesters shouted at him and demanded an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

Police officers pushed them aside, but the protesters ran at the car carrying the Labour leader and drummed on the window.

After the police cleared a path for the vehicle, protesters ran after it up the road.

The incident happened outside the Chatham House foreign affairs think-tank in central London, where Sir Keir has been setting out why he was not demanding an immediate ceasefire.

The Labour leader believes that freezing the situation in its existing state would do nothing to free the hostages taken by Hamas and would leave the group able to repeat its October 7 atrocities in future.

Instead, he has suggested that a humanitarian pause to let aid in and hostages out of Gaza is the only credible approach to the crisis.