Starmer raises plight of hostage Emily Damari during talks with Emir of Qatar
The PM met with Sheikh Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani at Downing Street to clinch a £1 billion green technology deal
Lee Harpin is the Jewish News's political editor
Keir Starmer has raised the plight of the hostages, including that of 28 year-old British-Israeli captive Emily Damari, at a meeting with the Emir of Qatar in Downing Street.
Wednesday’s talks with Sheikh Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani saw the agreement on a £1billion investment in climate technology between the UK and the small but influential Gulf State.
But the Prime Minister’s spokesperson confirmed the appalling suffering of Emily Damari and her family, along with that of the other Gaza hostages, would “feature” during Wednesday afternoon’s meeting of the two leaders.
Also on the agenda at the meeting, which comes at the end of a two-day visit to the UK by the Emir, were further discussions about defence, and “stability in the Middle East”.
After the pair met a Downing Street read out of the talks said:”The Prime Minister commended Qatar’s leadership in mediation in the Middle East, including their role in securing the release of hostages from Gaza.
“He added that we must continue to push for all hostages to be released, including British national Emily Damari.
“The leaders looked forward to speaking again soon.”
Asked earlier if the plight of British-Israel hostage Damari would be raised with Sheikh Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani by the PM in the talks, Downing Street said:”You can expect the plight of the hostages to feature.”
The No.10 spokesperson added: “In every diplomatic conversation that the Prime Minister has he urges world leaders to do everything they can to secure the return of the hostages.”
The read out of the meeting after it was concluded also said:”The Prime Minister hosted The Amir of Qatar His Highness Shiekh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani in Downing Street this afternoon.
“He began by welcoming a significant milestone in the UK and Qatar’s new clean energy partnership, and the initial £1 billion commitment made by Qatar.
“The two leaders agreed that the countries’ thriving investment relationship would continue to grow and deliver significant benefits for both countries.
“Turning to defence, the Prime Minister reflected on the UK’s close cooperation with Qatar and the leaders discussed their ambition to go further to strengthen their unique partnership.”
Ahead of the meeting between the two leaders, Mandy Damari, the mother of British hostage Emily, was seen seated in the public gallery at the House of Commons to observe Prime Minister’s Question Time.
She was seated with other family members, along with a representative from the Conservative Friends of Israel group.
At the start of PMQs the PM specifically referred to the plight of those “still being held hostage in Gaza.”
He said he had met Mandy Damari “a number of times” and “in my view what she is going through is nothing short of torture.”
Later Starmer said it was “hard to imagine” what Mandy was going through.
The Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch also praised Damari and said her party and “the whole House continue to seek the speedy release of Emily Damari and the other hostages.”
The Lib Dem leader Ed Davy also called for the hostages release “as soon as possible.”
Some have attempted to criticise the decision to roll out the red carpet for the Emir, with its poor record, not just in regard to links to the Hamas terror group, but also around human rights and LGBT+ issues.
But a Labour source also told Jewish News that the UK and US administration had been engaged in extensive talks earlier this year at which is was agreed to put added diplomatic pressure on Qatar over its approach to Hamas, who have held a political office in Doha, the capital, since 2012, and where many of the terror group’s own leadership have lived since October 7 2023.
Hostage families, including Mandy Damari, had met with foreign officials and Middle East minister Hamish Falconer on Tuesday, ahead of Wednesday’s talks with the Emir.
At a meeting in Westminster the families of hostages, and their legal representatives, urged the government to put pressure on the Qataris over securing a deal that would see those captured by Hamas allowed to leave Gaza.
While Starmer would not do anything an initial commitment of £1 billion to a “clean energy partnership” between the UK and Qatar, the source said he would insist that “we also need to talk about Hamas” at the meeting.
Starmer has previously noted the Gulf state’s mediation role since the October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.
He added: “We discuss human rights regularly with Qatar. We stand ready to co-operate with them on these issues.”
The pair will also hail a “significant milestone” in the relationship between the UK and Qatar, as the Gulf state confirms an initial commitment of £1 billion to a “clean energy partnership” between the two states.
Qatar has played a major role in rounds of unsuccessful talks to broker a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas.
The Biden administration has pushed for Hamas to be expelled from Qatar ahead of January when Donald Trump becomes president.
Since October 7, Doha has also hosted meetings between senior CIA and Mossad figures , including Mossad chief David Barnea,in a bid to secure the release of the hostages in Gaza
The pause in hostilities in Gaza last November, which secured the release of a small number of hostages, and jailed Palestinians, would not have happened without Qatari mediation.
Appearing on Channel 4 News on Tuesday, Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Dr Majed al-Ansari flagged up the role played by his country in the ceasefire talks.
“We believe in it, it is in our DNA, and we have been since April re-assessing our role as mediator between Hamas and Israel because we were convinced that there was not enough seriousness on both sides,” he said.
“When there was a deal on the table, when there was language that was supposedly acceptable to both sides, a deal did not materialise because one side decided to sabotage the talks.
“And as I said, we will not be political punching bags for those who want to use the mediation as a way just of, you know, pacifying its own people.”
He added: “For months since the 7 October, the team did not take any even day or hour off. I know that one of our negotiators spent ten hours on one phone call, attempting to deliver one of the hostages during the pause in November.
“But we have to remember that the only success in the mediation has happened throughout this mediation in November, and it helped release a number of 109 hostages and hundreds of prisoners from the Palestinian side. ”
Ahead of the visit, Starmer said: “I am proud that Qatar has chosen to base this global partnership here in the UK and I am delighted that the project is getting off the ground with this initial £1 billion commitment.”
The partnership was originally announced in 2021 on the sidelines of the Cop26 summit in Glasgow and is expected to see the creation of “climate technology hubs” across the UK and Qatar.
Starmer had previously condemned the Gulf state, saying he would not attend the World Cup there due to its poor human rights record.
But a spokesperson for the PM said he had since visited Qatar.
The Emir had previously met with in-coming US president Donald Trump, including in 2017.
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