Article originally published on Lib Dem Voice: https://www.libdemvoice.org/ed-davey-to-boycott-trump-state-visit-banquet-over-gaza-78169.html

Ed Davey has announced that he will boycott the State Banquet to be held during Donald Trump’s State Visit because of Trump’s complicity in the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.

He said:

Emily and I have spent all summer thinking about this and have prayed about it. There is no honour like an invitation from the King, and not to accept his invitation goes against all of our instincts.

But I fear we could have a situation where Donald Trump comes to our country, is honoured with a lavish dinner at one of our finest palaces, yet no one reminds him that he has the power to stop the horrifying starvation and death in Gaza and get the hostages released.

If Donald Trump tells Benjamin Netanyahu to stop this, it ends tomorrow. If Donald Trump uses his influence over Qatar and other Gulf states that Hamas relies on, all the hostages could come home tomorrow.

Boycotting the banquet is the one way I can send a message to Donald Trump and Keir Starmer that they can’t close their eyes and wish this away. We have to speak up, they have to act. Donald Trump has to end this humanitarian crisis.

This has been reported in the Guardian

Davey, who is invited to the dinner for Trump’s state visit to the UK, said to turn down an invitation from the king went against all his instincts and that it was a deeply serious move to refuse to attend.

But he said he feared unless he took a stand over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the lack of pressure on Israel from the US government, no one would raise the issue during the president’s visit in late September.