No 10 suggests Starmer will raise Emily Damari’s plight with Emir of Qatar

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and other party leaders paid tribute to Mandy Damari who was a guest at Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) on Wednesday. 

The mother of 28-year-old Emily Damari, a British hostage being held by terror group Hamas in Gaza, has been meeting with leaders of political parties and parliamentarians over the past few days to raise awareness of her daughter’s plight.

In his opening remarks, the prime minister told the Commons: “We are joined in the gallery today by Mandy Damari, the mother of Emily, a British citizen still being held hostage in Gaza. I have met Mandy a number of times, and in my view what she is going through is nothing short of torture.”

Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch, who met Damari on Tuesday, also praised her “and her family for the strength they have shown”.

The Tory leader continued: “We on this side of the House, and I am sure the whole House, continue to seek the speedy release of Emily Damari and the other hostages.”

Liberal Democrat party leader Sir Ed Davey echoed the prime minister’s words and said it was “our joint hope that we will see Emily and other hostages released as soon as possible.”

Starmer responded by saying: “It is important that we all remember her and the awful torture that her mother is going through, as is the case for all the other hostages. It is hard to imagine what it must be like for anybody with friends or family who are still being held hostage after all this time.”

Labour MP for Beckenham and Penge – the area where Mandy Damari grew up – Liam Conlon, who was one of several MPs she met as part of her visit, also praised her.

After PMQs, a No10 spokesperson suggested that Emily Damari’s plight would be raised directly with the Emir of Qatar, who is on a state visit to the United Kingdom.

Speaking about Starmer, the spokesperson said: “In every diplomatic conversation he has, he urges world leaders to do everything they can to secure the return of the hostages”.

Some of the leadership of Hamas had, until recently, been hosted by Qatar.

In November, a senior US official told Reuters that Hamas leaders "should no longer be welcome in the capitals of any American partner," after the terror organisation rejected repeated proposals to release the hostages.

In a speech at Labour Friends of Israel’s annual lunch on Monday, Mandy Damari said the British government’s decision to back a UN Security Council resolution calling for an unconditional ceasefire that was not tied to the release of hostages broke her heart.

On Tuesday, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage accused the government of pandering to Hamas and not doing enough to help secure her release.

“Almost no one in Britain knows that we still have a British citizen being held captive,” he said in a video on X/Twitter.