Sir Keir Starmer's pledge to recognise a Palestinian state risks breaking international law, some of Britain's top lawyers have warned.
A group of 38 members of the House of Lords, including some of the UK's most eminent lawyers, issued the alert in a letter to Attorney General Lord Hermer.
They said the Prime Minister's pledge to recognise Palestine within weeks, which he announced on Tuesday, may breach international law.
This is because the territory may not meet the criteria for statehood under the Montevideo Convention, a treaty signed in 1933.
The peers said Palestine 'does not meet the international law criteria for recognition of a state, namely, defined territory, a permanent population, an effective government and the capacity to enter into relations with other states'.
