"This seemed to be a response to what Mike Huckabee, the US ambassador to Israel, posted on X yesterday in a comment on a video clip of Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, saying in a Sunday morning interview that the UK had played a key role behind the scenes in shaping the peace deal announced by Trump. Huckabee, a Trump/Netanyahu loyalist who has been scathing in public before about the Labour government's foreign policy, said:"
"The Witkoff tweet read like an White House-sanctioned mini rebuke, and a reassurance to London that the ambassador was not speaking on behalf of the administration. But Witkoff's decision to also go public with lavish praise for Powell also implies that he is trying to be helpful to the UK national security adviser when he is under intense pressure because the opposition parties are blaming him for the collapse of the China spy trial."
Keir Starmer is in Egypt attending a Middle East peace summit co-chaired by Donald Trump, where the UK plays a background role. MPs have returned to the Commons after the four-week conference recess, shifting domestic scrutiny back onto national issues. A tweet from Steve Witkoff praised the United Kingdom's role and singled out National Security Advisor Jonathan Powell for his input. The tweet followed a rebuke from Mike Huckabee to Bridget Phillipson's claim about UK influence on the peace deal. Witkoff's public praise appears aimed at shielding Powell as opposition parties blame him for the collapse of the China spy trial.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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