Starmer raised Emily Damari’s plight with Emir of Qatar - The Jewish Chronicle

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer raised the plight of British hostage Emily Damari directly with the Emir of Qatar, Downing Street revealed.

In a statement on Wednesday night, following a meeting of the two leaders, a Downing Street spokesperson said that: “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.”

Earlier in the day, Starmer and other party leaders paid tribute to Mandy Damari who was a guest at Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs).

The mother of 28-year-old Emily, 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.”

Yesterday, I met Mandy Damari, the mother of Emily Damari. 28-year-old Emily is the last British national held by Hamas in Gaza.

Mandy told me the harrowing story of Emily's abduction on 7th October 2023 and I pay tribute to her strength as she campaigns for Emily's release.

I… pic.twitter.com/7db4XKKYSw
— Kemi Badenoch (@KemiBadenoch) December 4, 2024

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.

Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani was visiting the UK on a state visit which saw him hosted in Buckingham Palace by King Charles on Tuesday.

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.