Chloe Madeley and James Haskell shared a meal together with their daughter (Picture: @madeleychloe)
Chloe Madeley has celebrated her 39th birthday with her ex-husband, James Haskell, and their three-year-old daughter.
The fitness coach shared a glimpse of her birthday weekend on social media, posting photos of the former couple while enjoying lunch with their daughter, Bodhi.
Chloe can be seen smiling while cuddling Bodhi alongside the former England rugby players as they tucked into what appeared to be tacos at a restaurant terrace.
Donning a white blouse, Chloe also celebrated her birthday with her parents, Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan.
The 39-year-old added a picture of the pair also enjoying a meal, along with a few glasses of wine together.
Chloe posted this picture of her daughter, Bodhi on social media (Picture: @madeleychloe)
The former couple enjoyed a family day out for Chloe’s birthday (Picture: @madeleychloe)
Captioning the post, she wrote: ‘Birthday weekend,’ as fans took to the comments section to send her well wishes.
At the time of their split, James and Chloe both said that their daughter was their ‘sole focus’ and they would be co-parenting ‘with nothing but love’.
Since then, the pair have regularly spoken about their friendly co-parenting relationship and have often been seen spending time together with Bodhi despite no longer being a couple.
The TV personality said: ‘When you tell people that you are divorcing, everyone sees it as such a negative thing. They say: “This is going to be so hard for you.” And, yes, it is, but the hardest bit was when we were married.
‘The last year of the marriage was awful. It was so dark, painful, and one of the worst periods of my life. It’s a good thing we ended it.’
Chloe’s parents, Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan, were also out (Picture: @madeleychloe)
Chloe has previously opened up about her split from James (Picture: Ken McKay/ITV/REX)
‘I’m not sure where he’s gone wrong because prior to his marriage, I met lots of lovely girlfriends,’ Susie said during a dinner party.
‘Each of them just loved me, which is a bonus. I do have quite a strong opinion on why I think it went wrong.
‘You can’t have two stars because you have them competing for the floor space the whole time.’
She then continued: ‘In the past he’s been extremely popular. I’ve seen at rugby matches where elderly ladies have got very close to him.
‘He needs someone who can see the softness of him, coupled with quite a brilliant intellect. He’s written seven books. Three of them are on The Times best-seller list.’
Messi has never taken to the pitch against England (Picture: Getty)
There are very few things that Lionel Messi hasn’t done in his illustrious 22-year career.
But Wednesday night’s colossal World Cup semi-final showdown between England and Argentina will be the first time Messi has played against the Three Lions despite amassing 205 caps for the South American giants.
The two fierce rivals have not faced each other since a friendly in Geneva, Switzerland, in 2005.
Messi was suspended for that game, having been sent off with a straight red card in Argentina’s previous match against Hungary.
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Incredibly, the clash with Hungary was Messi’s international debut for Argentina, and even more remarkably, the red card came just under a minute after the then 18-year-old entered the pitch as a substitute.
The game in Switzerland was won by England, who scored twice in the final four minutes through Michael Owen to complete a dramatic turnaround after Argentina had twice led in the match.
Since then, the luck of the draw and early eliminations at major tournaments have kept the two teams apart.
England beat Argentina in 2005 (Picture: Getty)
The closest they have come since then to playing against one another at a World Cup was in 2010, when England would have played Argentina in the quarter-finals had the Three Lions beaten Germany in the Round of 16.
There was also a near-miss in 2022, when Argentina played Italy in the Finalissima at Wembley.
The game pitted the Copa America 2021 winners against the Euro 2021 champions, meaning England would have contested the match against Argentina had they not lost against Italy in the Euros final on penalties.
How could England stop Lionel Messi?
‘Could Djed Spence do a job on Lionel Messi? He could, so long as he keeps control of himself and doesn’t try any reckless tackles against him.
‘I like Spence because he’s quick and reads the game well but playing against Messi is a different thing to playing against other players. It all depends on where Messi lines up for Argentina. He looked more dangerous to me when he moved out wide against Egypt.
‘You don’t see it very often now but if the managers just put a man marker on him to try and mark him out of the game if plays more centrally. Could Declan Rice shut him down like that?
‘The only thing with putting a player on to man mark someone is that you then lose them from the other side of the game, and I’m not sure we’d like to lose what Declan offers with the ball.
‘Elliot Anderson could be capable of playing that role. It just depends where Messi plays. But first we need to beat Norway!’
Ex-England captain Bryan Robson speaking to Hajper
While the two countries have not faced each other at a major tournament since Messi’s debut, there is nothing to say they couldn’t have organised a friendly game between them in the years since.
However, for whatever reason – perhaps in part because of the off-field hostilities between the two nations – a friendly game has failed to materialise.
Messi: ‘It’s going to be a special match’
Messi, who has scored 125 times for Argentina, is relishing the opportunity to finally have a date with England.
‘The truth is, yes, it is always special to play against the big teams,’ Messi said after the quarter-final win over Switzerland.
‘It never happened to me against England, it’s the first time, so it’s going to be a special match, a World Cup semi-final.
Messi will be looking to help Argentina reach the World Cup final (Picture: Getty)
‘Now we’ll rest and prepare for that. We’ve come from a lot of effort, playing a long game and, well, sometimes it shows.’
The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner added: ‘Obviously, everything I saw and remember is from videos and images that Argentinians constantly watch and relive [from 1986]. But I think this group is used to playing football matches regardless of the opponent.
‘Obviously, playing against England is special because they are a powerhouse, and matches against powerhouses are always special.
‘Personally, it’s the first time I’m going to play against them. I’ve played against everyone except England, so it’s going to be nice for that reason too.
‘And to experience it for what it is – a World Cup semi-final against a powerhouse, a great team, and we will try to arrive in the best possible shape to compete again.
Storied World Cup history
The last time England played Argentina in a competitive match was at the 2002 World Cup.
The group stage game in Japan was won by England courtesy of a penalty by David Beckham, after Michael Owen was brought down in the box by future Tottenham and Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino.
Beckham’s penalty was the difference between the two sides in 2002 (Picture: Getty)
England’s win was something of a revenge for the events of the previous four years, when Argentina beat the Three Lions on penalties in the Round of 16 stage of the 1998 World Cup.
The game is infamous for Beckham being given a straight red card for kicking out against Diego Simeone while lying on the floor shortly after half-time.
Another history-defining game between the two came in the quarter-finals of the 1986 World Cup, with Diego Maradona scoring a brace to dump England out of the tournament.
The Maradona goals are unquestionably two of the most iconic ever scored in football history.
The first, the ‘Hand of God’, was followed by the ‘Goal of the Century’; Maradona picked the ball up in his own half and carried it 50 yards up the pitch before rounding Peter Shilton to double Argentina’s lead.
The game at the Azteca was a reversal of the result from the quarter-final of the 1966 World Cup, which England won 1-0 on their way to winning the tournament on home soil.
The first World Cup meeting between England and Argentina, meanwhile, was in the group stage of the 1962 edition, which England won 3-1.
In total, England lead the head-to-head record with four wins compared to Argentina’s two.
Readers discuss sexual fantasies, whether films can truly be ranked and the cost of rent (Picture: Getty Images)
Do you agree with our readers? Have your say on these MetroTalk topics and more in the comments
'Orgies and romance don't belong in the same sentence'
Talking up saucy new film The Invite, director-star Olivia Wilde is very much mistaken if she thinks ‘everyone’s thought about an orgy of some kind’ (Metro, Mon).
Romance and orgy don’t belong in the same sentence… yuk! Julie, West Midlands
Are the English getting ‘a little bit more French’?
Wilde says ‘people are starting to get a little bit more “French” about it’ when it comes to orgies.
About time, too – some years ago a French acquaintance of mine told me that the thing she hated most about orgies in England was ‘all the queuing’. Julian Self, Wolverton
No such thing as ‘best’ films
I agree entirely with your chief film critic Larushka Ivan-Zadeh that any list of so-called ‘best’ films needs interrogation (Metro, Fri).
She attempts to finesse the definition of ‘best’ by asking which films could be dubbed ‘the greatest’ and which ‘make a list feel alive’. Neither, however, tell us little more than the personal taste of the critic. Suppose that we demand of any list that the compiler be required to clarify their choices by adding one line of justification on each film.
Examples from my own putative list: Sunrise (1927) – for its definitive embodiment of the country versus city divide; Ulzana’s Raid (1972) – for its reworking of the cavalry western to render the Apache not as a murderous brute or noble savage but as an authentic bearer of the, albeit harsh, Apache culture; Ashes And Diamonds (1958) – for its formally dazzling interweaving of the socio-political forces of post-war Poland; Le Samourai (1967) – for elegantly crafting the end point of the gangster genre; and Far From Heaven (2002) – for its sense of film history in reworking Douglas Sirk’s All That Heaven Allows (1955) for a culture whose sexual and racial norms had changed.
Congratulations, Larushka, keep asking questions about cinema. Colin, London
‘No point in having cheap rent if there’s nowhere to rent’
I note Generation Rent want rent controls as rates are ‘too expensive’.
It’s not rents that are too expensive but property prices. Landlords in the south-east can expect a yield of around four per cent – and that’s before tax.
Squeeze that and of course they will sell up. There is no point in having cheap, regulated rents if there is nowhere to rent.
The answer to high rents is to build more housing. It doesn’t matter if it’s one million council homes or private homes – more must be built. P Royan, London
‘Jiasas should be promoted to parents’
Rosie Murray-West (Metro, Mon) says targeting financial advertising at the old is a waste of time because their affairs will largely be in order. I’d disagree.
Junior Isas (Jisas) and Junior Self-Invested Personal Pensions (Jsipps) should be promoted to parents as a tax-efficient way to transfer small amounts of inter-generational wealth to the young.
As a parent, I’d like the rules changed to allow young people to be able to draw down from these to pay for post-secondary education (rather than at age 18 for Jisas or 55 for Jsipps, as per current rules).
This should especially be the case with trade skill and qualifications to deal with UK skills gaps, exam fees for home-schoolers and education/training from 16-18 if that would benefit neurodiverse children where costs are not covered under an Education, Health and Care Plan. Miles Thomas, London
Do you agree with our readers? Have your say on these MetroTalk topics and more in the comments
Readers discuss if it is better for children to have siblings, whether the Clacton by-election is legit and whether the UK is facing a heatwave (Picture: Getty)
Do you agree with our readers? Have your say on these MetroTalk topics and more in the comments
Only children are not lonely
Kate Lawler’s article about choosing to have just one child (Metro, Thu) had me shaking my head in disbelief.
I’m an only child who is a generation older than Kate and was so disappointed to learn she still had to contend with the same myths (‘an only child is a lonely child’) and proscriptive attitudes (‘without children, you’re not whole’) that were prevalent when I was young.
I lived contentedly with my mum, dad and grandma. I don’t recall being lonely and made friends easily enough. I recall adults feeling sorry for me and asking leading questions (‘but don’t you wish you a brother or sister?’), which could not have been further from my mind.
There is much research to suggest that we ‘onlies’ enjoy advanced verbal skills, do well academically, are confident and deal better with solitude.
So, good for Kate and her small-but-beautifully-formed family. And good for those who choose to remain childless and those who have several kids (assuming they can look after them all). Do what’s right for you!
And, please, can everyone else mind their own business? You can’t get inside someone else’s head and if you really believe life without procreation lacks purpose, I feel deeply sorry for you. William Buckley, Reading
Siblings aren’t always all that
Having siblings is not always what it’s cracked up to be. My older sister and I did play together as children but she would happily ditch me if she had something better to do. It didn’t help that my dad also played favourites, pitting us against each other for his affection.
For every person I know who has an amazing relationship with their siblings, I know another who has had major friction and/or become estranged from them. Tania, London
‘Heatwave is an official term, where the temperature is hotter than average for that time’
Sarah (MetroTalk, Fri) asks why we’re referring to our weather as a ‘heatwave’ rather than a ‘glorious summer’.
Heatwave is an official term, where the temperature is hotter than average for that time. The average temperature for July is usually around 17C so the fact it’s been 32C for an extended period is more than it just being a bit hot. Matt, Sheffield
Reader points out flaw with time off for World Cup…
John (MetroTalk, Fri) says businesses should have allowed staff to knock off early to watch Saturday’s England match.
I’m a train driver who doesn’t follow football. I do, however, follow cycling – and with three Grand Tours lasting three weeks each, I look forward to the railway shutting for nine weeks. Paul, Braintree
‘The media is doing its job, reporting the fact of his undeclared £5million crypto-gift’
John Nightingale (MetroTalk, Thu) suggests Nigel Farage is the victim of a mainstream media witch-hunt and says he has been ‘found guilty of nothing’.
The media is doing its job, reporting the fact of his undeclared £5million crypto-gift, which has triggered an official probe.
Farage has built a career on ‘just asking questions’ to stir the populist pot, yet when Parliament asks entirely legitimate questions of him, this Dulwich College-educated former City broker cries foul and triggers a costly by-election to dodge scrutiny. Peter Brown, Cleckheaton
Clacton by-election should be suspended
Why isn’t the Clacton by-election postponed until after the investigation into Farage’s finances is concluded? Terry, Winnersh
As dramatic as the Emmerdale village is, it’s not the ideal place to live if you want your day-to-day life to consist of anything more than getting up, going to work, heading to the pub and going home.
It’s something that appears to be on Noah Dingle’s (Jack Downham) mind in upcoming episodes of the ITV soap, and it could well lead to his departure.
Son to Charity Dingle (Emma Atkins), Noah has faced his fair share of village chaos. A couple of years ago, he was sentenced to prison after stalking and harassing Chloe Harris. Noah was released, and thankfully managed to turn his life around.
Last year, Noah became one of the many victims impacted by Joe Tate’s (Ned Porteous) scheme. He was in need of a kidney transplant, but obviously went about finding a donor in a completely unethical way.
Joe drugged his brother Noah and took him to a private hosptial. Dodgy surgeon Doctor Crowley tested Noah’s blood against Joe’s, but discovered he wasn’t a match.
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With Noah being basically useless to him at that time, Joe dumped him at the side of the road. In his drugged state, Noah staggered in front of a limo that was being driven by Charity. The vehicle crashed onto a frozen lake, eventually leading to the deaths of Amy Wyatt, Suzy Merton and Leyla Harding.
When he isn’t stuck in the middle of some Dingle or Tate based drama, Noah works as an eletrician. He enjoys it, it provides him with good money – but Noah wants more.
In scenes that will air soon, Noah tells Mackenzie Boyd (Lawrence Robb) that he’s considering applying for jobs abroad.
It would be a great opportunity for Noah to experience what life outside of the village has to offer – but will he actually leave?
Noah is one of the many who could end up killing Doctor Todd (Picture: ITV)
Could Noah kill Todd and then make a run for it? (Picture: ITV/YouTube)
A body was discovered in a suitcase at a park, close to where a children’s teddy bear hunt event had been taking place (Picture: Cover Images)
A mother taking her children on a teddy bear hunt was shocked to find a suitcase with human remains inside.
The mother had been at the park attending a teddy bear hunt organised as a fundraiser for a local nursery when she saw flies emanating from the case in a wooded area on Friday.
She told KentOnline: ‘I saw the luggage before the police. I was with my niece and nephew, so I was busy keeping them from seeing it.
‘What I saw was the suitcase covered in hundreds of flies. I actually heard the buzzing from them first. I noticed that it was a large suitcase and had a snow sledge next to it.’
The day before, police had been tipped off to potential murder at a flat on Kingfisher Court in Wandsworth, more than 30 miles away from Borstal Recreation Ground, Kent where the discovery was made.
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No-one was found in the property but after carrying out a search, officers believed ‘someone had come to harm’ and a murder investigation was launched.
Shortly after two men, aged 27 and 32, living 30 miles away in Wandsworth went to a police station where they were arrested on suspicion of murder.
Ivan Tsvetkov, 38, had been playing with his child at the park when he noticed the police presence at around 7.30pm.
The warehouse worker said: ‘I can’t imagine something like this happening at the park. I play there with my child.
‘There are always loads of people there, so I am shocked by it. It’s a nice quiet area and I wouldn’t expect something like that here.’
Detectives charged Joshua Miller, 32, of Kingfisher Court, Wandsworth, with murder and preventing a lawful and decent burial.
Jamie Cooper, 27, of the same address, has been charged with preventing a lawful and decent burial.
The Met said the victim and both men charged were known to each other.
Both suspects will appear at Medway Magistrates’ Court tomorrow.
Jesse L. Martin has revealed that a grieving widower once visited him on set with a heartbreaking plea (Picture: Mark Mainz/Getty Images)
Law & Order built an empire on its famous ‘ripped from the headlines’ formula, but for one grieving husband, seeing his family’s tragedy turned into primetime television was simply too much.
Former star Jesse L. Martin has revealed that a widower once turned up at his trailer in tears, begging the long-running crime drama to change an episode inspired by his wife’s murder because he feared it could affect the ongoing court case.
Martin, 57, played Detective Ed Green on the NBC series between 1999 and 2008, during one of the show’s most successful eras, when it regularly adapted real-life crimes into fictional storylines.
Looking back on his time filming, the actor admitted there was one encounter he has never forgotten.
Speaking to People, Martin explained that the case involved a woman who had been murdered in Manhattan while legal proceedings were still ongoing.
Although he declined to identify the victim or the case, he recalled that her husband somehow became aware the programme was developing an episode based on the events.
The actor was on the NBC series between 1999 and 2008(Picture: Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)
‘Someone knocked on my trailer door, and it was the husband of the person who was killed,’ Martin remembered.
‘He was there with his child — a little baby — and he was in tears.
‘He was like, “This could mess up the case for us. I need your help. I don’t want this to happen.”‘
The unexpected confrontation left Martin feeling powerless.
‘I felt absolutely useless,’ he admitted. ‘I had no idea what to do.’ Instead, the actor immediately fetched one of the show’s producers, hoping they could reassure the grieving father.
Law & Order has long insisted its episodes are inspired by real events rather than direct recreations, often combining multiple cases or substantially altering details to avoid identifying those involved.
Law & Order is one of the longest running and most successful TV franchises in history (Picture: Ralph Bavaro/NBC via Getty Images)
Martin said the production team always tried to change stories enough to create distance from the original crimes.
But in this case, the husband believed the similarities were simply too close.
‘He was convinced we were literally just telling that story,’ Martin said.
Although the actor stressed he wasn’t personally responsible for the script, the encounter changed how he viewed the show’s famous storytelling approach.
‘It’s the first time I felt like, even though I wasn’t responsible, I had felt totally responsible for what this story actually turns out to be,’ he said.
‘I didn’t want it to affect him, obviously, or his family, or the story, the legacy.’
Law & Order has been borrowing elements from real criminal cases since it first premiered in 1990, with creator Dick Wolf making the ‘ripped from the headlines’ approach one of the franchise’s defining trademarks.
For millions of viewers it’s become part of the appeal. For one devastated husband standing outside an actor’s trailer with his young child, however, the line between fact and fiction suddenly felt far too thin.
Readers discuss making exceptions for the World Cup, whether Count Binface should win the Clacton by-election and why current UK temperatures are being called a ‘heatwave’ (Photo: Christian Brunskill/UPI/Shutterstock)
Do you agree with our readers? Have your say on these MetroTalk topics and more in the comments
'It would be great for retail venues and businesses in general to close early and give staff some'
With England focused on the World Cup quarter-final against Norway tomorrow night, it would be great for retail venues and businesses in general to close early and give staff some paid time off to prepare for the match – or just chill out.
Indeed, more goods would be bought as customers bring forward their shopping. A win-win situation, one could say.
The hottest weather since 1976 is another reason for earlier closure. It would be good for safety and morale likely rise and much respect be gained.
Retail work is very ‘around the clock’ and a bit of paid time off for the match would allow staff to touch base with their local communities and their neighbours. And to make memories.
In the meantime, my best wishes to all fellow Metro readers and their families for their enjoyment of the match in their communities. John Barstow, Pulborough
What does ‘British tennis players not being born in Britain’ mean?
British tennis has had many great players, past and present, who were never actually born in Britain. To name a few – Cameron Norrie, Johanna Konta, Greg Rusedski and Emma Raducanu.
They have now been joined by new boy, Arthur Fery, who was born in France and has made the Wimbledon semi-finals.
Is this a sign of desperation by the sport’s governing body, which has a small pool of players to choose from that reflects a lack of training and development in this country and of the elitism and high costs in tennis, from top to bottom? Steve, Harrow
Reader questions why UK heat is called a heatwave…
Many countries in Europe have long summers with temperatures similar to those we in the UK are currently experiencing. So why is ours called a ‘heatwave’? Surely we’re simply having a glorious summer for once! Sarah Howes, Mortlake
What a heaven-sent opportunity Nigel Farage has given the people of Clacton in forcing a by-election in his constituency. Not only can they send Farage to the political abyss, they can liven up Westminster by electing Count Binface. So, not only is it sticking up two fingers to Farage but also to the establishment – a win-win situation! Go for it Clacton! Steven Collett, Birmingham
Farage ‘cares little for real democracy’
Nigel Farage is a loud-mouthed self-publicist who doesn’t work well with others in his party and seems to be in the business – rather like Donald Trump – of maximising personal financial gain, caring little for real democracy. Lester May, Camden Town
This reader things Farage will win the by-election
It’s amazing how so many of the letters printed in MetroTalk about Farage are from people who hate him and think or hope that he is going to fail to win his by-election. But Reform have been leading the polls for months and are still well in the front – so I just hope they are not too upset when he wins.
And the fact that all the major parties have refused to take part in the by-election simply proves how scared they are of losing to him. Leslie, Stourbridge
Nothing loveable about Farage
Alan (MetroTalk, Wed) compares Farage with television wheeler-dealer Arthur Daley – but I remember the Minder character as being portrayed by George Cole as a loveable rogue. I fail to see anything remotely loveable about Farage, who is every bit as much a part of the establishment as those he himself claims to despise so much. Roger Smith, Witham
Should the public be asked which form of energy they want?
Further to complaints about a 132,000-panel solar farm, Michael (MetroTalk, Wed) suggests we ask people whether they’d prefer to live with ‘a vast expanse of solar panels or with a nuclear power plant nearby’.
Yes, we absolutely should ask people whether they would prefer cheap, reliable energy produced by nuclear power or the alternative of expensive and unreliable energy from solar panels. Will Podmore, London
Do you agree with our readers? Have your say on these MetroTalk topics and more in the comments
Shocking footage has shown the moment a police officer tackled a man threatening to set himself on fire with a lighter at a petrol station.
Sgt Charlie Thompson wrestled the unnamed man to the ground after he had doused himself in petrol in October last year.
The man was just inches away from the pumps at the Tesco petrol station forecourt, running the risk of a ‘catastrophic’ explosion.
Footage from the tense stand-off shows the man demanding to speak to several people, including the mayor.
He could be heard threatening to ignite himself and gave emergency services ’15 minutes’ to act.
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Sgt Thompson could be heard pleading with the man, asking him to come and talk to the officers.
Sgt Thompson has been nominated for a bravery award (Picture: SWNS)
He tells him: ‘I will try and do what I can. I won’t talk to you while you are holding a lighter. I will talk to you, but not here.
‘We need to get you away from here. Tell me what’s going on. You don’t need to be doing this. What is this about? You need to be very careful.’
The man then poured more petrol over his head before quick-thinking Sgt Thompson dashed at him, risking his own life before tackling him to the ground.
Other officers pile on top while firemen hose the man down with foam to prevent the risk of a fire.
Sgt Thompson has now been nominated for an award at the Police Federation National Police Bravery Awards 2026.
Another rescue worker sprayed him with a fire extinguisher to prevent any potential fire (Picture: SWNS)
Acting Chief Constable David Gardner, of Warwickshire Police, said: ‘We are extremely proud of Sgt Thompson, who demonstrated incredible fortitude, empathy, and quick-thinking in his actions that day.
‘It is thanks to him, and the other officers on the ground, that there wasn’t a tragedy that day in Stratford-upon-Avon. He is more than worthy of the Bravery Award.’
Sgt Thompson said: ‘I couldn’t have done it without the team behind me – we co-ordinated, we worked together, and it was together that we stopped what could have been a terrible loss of life.
‘I’m overwhelmed to have been nominated for a Bravery Award – it’s always a good day when our hard work in the police is recognised like this.
‘I hope that the chap I tackled is doing better now – it will have been a very low moment for him, and we hope he’s managed to pick himself back up and get the support he needed.’
Prime minister-in-waiting Andy Burnham has distanced himself from Sir Keir Starmer’s response over Gaza as he awaits being crowned leader of the country uncontested.
A total of 322 Labour MPs have formally backed Burnham to be the next party leader on the first day of nominations.
The former Manchester mayor, who returned to Parliament winning a by-election in Makerfield,is expected to become prime minister on 20 July.
As the deadline passes for other candidates to challenge him, he will be declared Labour leader at a party event at the end of next week.
He took the opportunity to back deeper sanctions against Israeli figures involved in settler violence as he apologised for Labour’s initial response to the country’s actions in Gaza.
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Andy Burnham is on course to become Labour’s new leader, with no other candidate running against him. (Picture: AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
The likely next prime minister said the UK should be ‘clear in our criticism of what has happened in Gaza’, while also condemning Hamas’s attack on October 7 2023 and subsequent acts of antisemitic violence in Britain.
In a video posted to social media, he said: ‘I know many people feel that at the start of Israel’s military action in Gaza, my party didn’t get it right and I am sorry about that.
‘The response has too often not been good enough. We need to do better.’
Palestinian children watch on as families dig through the rubble after an Israeli strike (Picture: EPA)
While he acknowledged Labour had subsequently recognised a Palestinian state, imposed restrictions on arms exports and sanctioned some Israeli ministers, he suggested a government under his leadership would go further.
Mr Burnham said: ‘Let’s be honest, the UK was too slow to call for a ceasefire and we must now do more to strengthen our approach.’
He added that action would include ‘looking at further sanctions, both on those involved in the violence in Gaza, but also looking at measures to ban trade in goods with illegal settlements’.
But he stopped short of accusing Israel of perpetrating a genocide against Palestinians, as some Labour MPs have demanded Sir Keir Starmer should.
Mr Burnham said there was ‘increasing evidence that war crimes appear to have been committed’, but added it was ultimately a matter for international courts rather than politicians to determine.
He said he was ‘appalled by what I have seen and read about the destruction of Gaza’, describing the experience of Palestinians in the territory as ‘a scar on our collective conscience’.
And he stressed his condemnation of both the October 7 attacks by Hamas and antisemitic violence in Britain, saying: ‘We must continue to stamp out antisemitism across the UK.’
Labour’s initial response to Israel’s military action in Gaza, including resisting demands to call for an immediate ceasefire, drew strong criticism from some of the party’s supporters, with the issue driving a significant shift of particularly younger voters towards the Green Party.
Andy Burnham has said Labour “didn’t get it right” in its initial response to Israel’s military action in Gaza, and signalled a shift in the UK’s approach including further sanctions and a possible ban on trade in settlement goods.
Responding, Karla McLaren from Amnesty International said: ‘These violations require urgent responses from the UK government, so we agree the UK should, at a minimum, end trade in settlement goods without delay and impose further sanctions on the Israeli officials most implicated in abuses.
‘Mr Burnham’s words point in the right direction, now we need to see this translated into action.’
Burnham has offered some other details for what his premiership could look like in a speech in Manchester last week.
He plans to establish a new No 10 unit in the north which will be tasked with handing local government more control in areas including housing and transport.
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He also pledged to give all parts of the UK ‘greater public control’ of the water and energy sectors but other details remain scant.
