Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of any damage caused to the relationship between the UK and United States by the UK abstaining on the United Nations Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza on 8 December.

The US is the UK's most important strategic ally and partner, and we do more together than any other two countries in the world. As the Foreign Secretary has said, we stand united in the Middle East and are working together to ensure long-term security and stability in the region. He visited the US on the 6 December to meet with Secretary of State Blinken and other senior government officials. They discussed getting humanitarian aid into Gaza and how the UK and US can work towards enabling a long-term two-state solution. We are gravely concerned about the desperate situation in Gaza and of course want to see a peaceful resolution to the conflict; ultimately this will mean a lasting ceasefire, agreed and abided to by all sides.