Andrea Egan warned against ‘swapping Starmer out for Streeting’ in any Labour leadership election. Photograph: Andrea4GS/PA
Blunt remarks indicate UK’s largest union may be on collision course with Wes Streeting and Labour more widely
The new general secretary of Unison has declared the trade union will end its support for the “destructive right wing of the Labour party” and said any leadership election in 2026 should not swap Keir Starmer for Wes Streeting.
Andrea Egan, who won a decisive victory as a leftwing challenger this week, hit out at Streeting in an article for the Guardian over his handling of the resident doctors’ dispute, saying it was “simply unacceptable for a Labour politician to describe striking workers as morally reprehensible”.
She also called on Starmer to “act now” to stop Palestine solidarity campaigners having “to starve protesting for their basic rights”, in reference to the prisoners on hunger strike.
Her blunt remarks indicate that Unison, a leading union for health and social care workers, is on course for a collision with Streeting and Labour more widely over its approach to industrial action and the Middle East.
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Egan suggested a Labour leadership contest was likely in 2026 and warned against the party backing Streeting.
“We will call time on our union’s inexcusable habit of propping up politicians who act against our interests, undermine our fundamental values and make our lives worse,” she said.
“Like colleagues across the movement, I have in recent weeks been appalled by Wes Streeting’s attacks on resident doctors and their union. It is simply unacceptable for a Labour politician to describe striking workers as ‘morally reprehensible’.”
Orcas discuss Genocide-supporting and complicit Zionists. Donald Trump, Keith Starmer, David Lammy, Rachel Reeves, Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting are acknowledged as evil genocide-complicit and supporting cnuts.Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.Keir Starmer justifies why he has to travel abroad so much
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Civil defense teams continue searching with heavy machinery for the bodies of Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks and trapped under rubble in the al-Amal neighborhood of Khan Yunis, Gaza, on December 20, 2025. [Abed Rahim Khatib – Anadolu Agency]
Civil defense teams in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis are continuing efforts to recover the bodies of Palestinians trapped beneath rubble following Israeli attacks, as the Gaza Strip remains under blockade, Anadolu reports.
The bodies of those killed in the strikes and left buried under collapsed buildings throughout the war are being searched for by civil defense crews using heavy machinery.
Remains recovered after prolonged periods beneath the rubble, including dismembered body parts and bones, are being collected by the teams for later identification.
Israel has killed nearly 70,700 people, mostly women and children, and injured over 171,000 in Gaza since October 2023 and reduced the enclave to rubble.
According to the latest data from Gaza’s Government Media Office, the conflict has resulted in the complete destruction of 268,000 housing units, with 148,000 severely damaged beyond habitability and 153,000 partially damaged.
A ceasefire agreement brokered between Hamas and Israel on October 10 of last year halted large-scale military operations. However, reports indicate that Israel continues demolitions in areas under its control, and the Israeli military has been accused of hundreds of violations of the agreement, including bombardments and killings.
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Genocide denier and Current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is quoted that he supports Zionism without qualification. He also confirms that UK air force support has been essential in Israel’s mass-murdering genocide. Includes URLs https://www.declassifieduk.org/keir-starmers-100-spy-flights-over-gaza-in-support-of-israel/ and https://youtu.be/O74hZCKKdpAKeir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.Orcas discuss Genocide-supporting and complicit Zionists. Donald Trump, Keith Starmer, David Lammy, Rachel Reeves, Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting are acknowledged as evil genocide-complicit and supporting cnuts.
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Displaced Palestinians, who struggle with hunger, wait to receive hot meal, distributed by charity organizations, in al-Mawasi region of Khan Yunis, Gaza on December 17, 2025. [Abed Rahim Khatib – Anadolu Agency]
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday warned that while famine in the Gaza Strip has been averted, the humanitarian situation remains extremely fragile, with more than 75% of the population facing acute food insecurity and critical risks of malnutrition, Anadolu Agency reports.
“Famine has been pushed back. Far more people are able to access the food they need to survive,” Guterres told a news conference at the UN headquarters in New York. “Gains are fragile, perilously so.”
He said 1.6 million people in Gaza, more than 75% of the population, are projected to face “extreme levels of acute food insecurity and critical malnutrition risks.”
“And in more than half of Gaza, where Israeli troops remain deployed, farmland and entire neighborhoods are out of reach. Strikes and hostilities continue, pushing the civilian toll of this war even higher and exposing our teams to grave danger,” he said.
Guterres also renewed calls for “a durable ceasefire,” saying: “We need more crossings, the lifting of restrictions on critical items, the removal of red tape, safe routes inside Gaza, sustained funding, and unimpeded access, including for NGOs.”
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) released its news findings on Friday, noting that famine conditions in the enclave have been temporarily offset following a reduction in hostilities and improved access for humanitarian and commercial food deliveries. The latest report, however, warned that the overall situation in Gaza remains critical.
The UN chief also touched on Israel’s refusal to move onto the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire plan until the return of the remains of a final deceased hostage.
“It is essential to move to phase two, and I don’t think that we should have any pretext to avoid it,” said Guterres.
“It’s very important to move with the peace process as a whole. And it’s not only phase two. It’s to make sure that phase one, and namely the ceasefire, are fully implemented,” he added.
ICJ ruling on occupied West Bank ‘must be implemented’
On the situation in the West Bank, Guterres warned that “we cannot lose sight of the rapidly deteriorating situation” in the Palestinian territory occupied by Israel.
He stressed that Palestinians face “escalating Israeli settler violence, land seizures, demolitions and intensified movement restrictions.”
“Tens of thousands have been displaced following operations by Israeli forces in the northern West Bank,” he added.
Guterres emphasized that provisional measures indicated by the International Court of Justice “are binding and must be implemented.”
He also reaffirmed his support for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), calling it “an indispensable role in serving the Palestinian people.”
Saying that the crisis in Palestine is “born of human decisions,” the UN chief urged for an end to “perverse and prolonged suffering.”
“Palestinians need a horizon of hope. The ceasefire must be implemented in full. The endless cycle of violence must be broken,” he said.
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Vote Labour for Genocide.Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.Orcas discuss Genocide-supporting and complicit Zionists. Donald Trump, Keith Starmer, David Lammy, Rachel Reeves, Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting are acknowledged as evil genocide-complicit and supporting cnuts.
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Palestinians trying to maintain daily life in partially destroyed buildings as heavy rainfall cause tents sheltering displaced Palestinians in the eastern Zaitoun neighborhood to flood in Gaza City, Gaza on December 12, 2025. [Saeed M. M. T. Jaras – Anadolu Agency]
The top diplomats of Egypt and Russia stressed Friday the importance of implementing the Gaza ceasefire agreement and ensuring its sustainability amid continued Israeli violations, Anadolu Agency reports.
Addressing a joint press conference held in Cairo, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said Egypt is exerting intensive efforts to stabilize the ceasefire and ensure the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza, emphasizing the need to implement UN Security Council Resolution 2803, as well as the need to reopen the Rafah crossing in both directions.
He also highlighted the depth of Egyptian-Russian relations across various fields, noting that he discussed with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, the strategic partnership between Cairo and Moscow and ways to increase bilateral trade.
They also discussed the situation in Sudan and efforts to de-escalate tensions in the region, according to Egypt’s state-run Al-Qahera News channel.
Lavrov, for his part, said the trade exchange with Egypt has increased by more than 12% recently, affirming that the two countries share common views on many international issues.
Lavrov added that diplomatic efforts must continue to ensure the sustainability of the Gaza ceasefire, stressing the need to work toward a two-state solution and calm the situation in the West Bank, according to Al-Qahera News.
He also praised Egypt’s role and its mediation between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency, in addition to what he described as Cairo’s “balanced” position on the Ukraine crisis, saying a settlement is possible “once the root causes are removed.”
Lavrov is visiting Egypt to participate in the second ministerial meeting of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum on Friday and Saturday, with the participation of more than 50 African countries, and heads of regional organizations.
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Genocide denier and Current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is quoted that he supports Zionism without qualification. He also confirms that UK air force support has been essential in Israel’s mass-murdering genocide. Includes URLs https://www.declassifieduk.org/keir-starmers-100-spy-flights-over-gaza-in-support-of-israel/ and https://youtu.be/O74hZCKKdpAKeir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.Orcas discuss Genocide-supporting and complicit Zionists. Donald Trump, Keith Starmer, David Lammy, Rachel Reeves, Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting are acknowledged as evil genocide-complicit and supporting cnuts.
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European Union flags are seen waving outside the EU Commission Building in Brussels, Belgium. [Dursun Aydemir/Anadolu Agency]
Several European countries voiced concern Friday about new US sanctions imposed on two judges of the International Criminal Court (ICC), reaffirming their support for the Court’s independence and ability to carry out its judicial mandate without political pressure, Anadolu reports.
The Finnish Foreign Ministry said on US social media platform X that it “deeply regrets” the US decision to sanction the judges, stressing that the court must be able to function freely.
In a statement, the French Foreign Ministry said Paris had taken note of the new sanctions targeting, as it urged Washington to withdraw all measures taken against the Court.
“France condemns all forms of threats and coercive measures against the ICC, its staff and civil society organizations supporting the court,” it said, warning that the sanctions amount to an attack on the institution and the 125 states party to the Rome Statute.
Belgium expressed concern about the decision, with Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot saying the sanctions “further undermine judicial independence and efforts to fight impunity.”
“Belgium strongly regrets the new additional sanctions of the US against two judges of the @IntlCrimCourt,” Prevot wrote on X, adding that Brussels would continue to support the Court in carrying out its mandate independently and impartially.
Denmark echoed similar concerns, with the Foreign Affairs Ministry saying Copenhagen “deeply regrets” the US decision and reaffirmed its unwavering support for the ICC as an independent and impartial judicial institution.
Other European countries, including Spain, the Netherlands and Norway, have also voiced concern about the sanctions and reiterated their support for the Court’s independence.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced sanctions Thursday against ICC judges Gocha Lordkipanidze of Georgia and Erdenebalsuren Damdin of Mongolia, accusing them of being “directly engaged” in “the illegitimate targeting of Israel.”
In response, the ICC said it “strongly rejects” the sanctions and labelled the move a “flagrant attack” against the independence of an impartial judicial institution.
The latest measures follow previous US sanctions imposed on ICC officials involved in authorizing arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant — warrants accusing both officials of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip.
Israel has killed more than 70,600 victims, mostly women and children, and injured over 171,100 people in attacks in Gaza since October 2023, which have continued despite a truce being signed in October.
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UK Foreign Minister David Lammy confirms that UK government and military are active participants in Israel’s genocides and that the F-35 parts that they suspended from supplying to Israel are instead simply diverted via the United States. He says see https://youtu.be/QILgUHrdWREKeir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.Orcas discuss Genocide-supporting and complicit Zionists. Donald Trump, Keith Starmer, David Lammy, Rachel Reeves, Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting are acknowledged as evil genocide-complicit and supporting cnuts.
