Leaving Beirut

Later today, a UK chartered commercial flight from Beirut to Birmingham is set to take off, as part of evacuations of British-linked people from Lebanon.

Something of a trickle has already made it back. Nicole Al Baba was at Heathrow on Tuesday to meet her cousin and grandmother, who were arriving from Beirut. She was relieved that they will be coming home safely, but also devastated by the escalating situation in Lebanon, where Israel has mounted an offensive against the Iran-backed militia Hezbollah.

“I’m feeling anxious and scared. We’re worried about our friends, we’re worried about our family,” Ms Al Baba said. Despite living in the UK, "we still have to watch our country get destroyed”, she added.

Thousands are hurrying to leave Lebanon, with ticket prices soaring after many airlines cancelled flights. Middle East Airlines, the Lebanese carrier, is among the few still operating in Beirut.

The UK government secured places for 40 British nationals on the same Middle East Airlines flight as Ms Al Baba’s family, as it began evacuations out of Lebanon on Sunday. The UK will charter a commercial flight from Beirut to Birmingham on Wednesday, charging passengers ￡350 each ($465).

Further evacuations “may not be guaranteed”, said Mr Lammy. “The situation in Lebanon is volatile and has potential to deteriorate quickly. The safety of British nationals in Lebanon continues to be our utmost priority.”

Happening now

In a month or so, there will be a new leader of the Conservative Party. Each contender has an opportunity to press their cause when they addressed delegates at the conference today.

Of the four, some have international credentials, others do not.

Informed by his time in Lebanon learning Arabic, Tom Tugendhat talked about what Israel's offensive against Hezbollah could mean. “You’ll forgive me, I am deeply sympathetic to and really feel for the Lebanese friends of mine, but I am very pleased that Hezbollah is being knocked out.”

Like the other contenders, James Cleverly, a former foreign secretary, has backed Israel's latest actions. Robert Jenrick has declared he would move the UK embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. And Kemi Badenoch opened the conference with an interview declaring “too many” migrants to the UK hate Israel and should be banned.

Palestine's envoy in the UK made that point during the conference. Addressing the dean of the Arab diplomatic corps and leading Conservatives, Husam Zomlot recalled the impact of former leader David Cameron as foreign secretary in the months leading up to the July election defeat.

“I know the Conservative Party is very keen on the idea of international law and I know because I have had the privilege of working with Lord Cameron who, by the way, for the first time, broke a taboo and imposed sanctions on Israeli settlers,” Mr Zomlot said. “Who, for the first time, said that the recognition of the state of Palestine cannot wait for a final outcome or a peace process. That's a Conservative leader.

“We need that Conservative Party to help us.”

Sanctions mapped

The proliferation of sanctions to tackle crisis situations around the world is of growing importance. The UN, US, EU and UK are behind many newly promoted sanctions. After Russia, Middle East nations and groups are often the targets.

The sanctions tide, highlighted by a 13 per cent year-on-year increase in net global designations, is not over, the report said. It is the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (Ofac) that is driving the sanctions agenda. It was responsible for 67 per cent of all designations made in the first six months of this year.

As a result, terrorism and Russia-related sanctions have now gained equal weight in the overall number of US measures on the books. Each represented 28 per cent of the Ofac case book.

The report, Taking the Pulse of Major Sanctions Lists from Lexis Nexis Risk Solutions, said imposing sanctions is a mainstay tool for global diplomacy. It found third-country evasion tactics – where networks and people help along prohibited exports or imports to a sanctioned state – were a growing field.

“The earlier 'storm' of sanctions activity has settled into a new level of normal that is expected to continue through the end of 2024,” the report said.