Ed Miliband has called for a “stronger, deeper partnership” between Britain and the European Union, placing closer European integration at the centre of Labour’s foreign policy as he also condemned the Israeli government’s conduct in Gaza and the West Bank.
The Foreign Secretary was speaking at Labour’s conference in Liverpool, where he also addressed the suspected terrorist incident at RAF Fairford and paid tribute to the security services, armed forces and police involved.
Miliband said the incident was a reminder of the security threats facing Britain.
“Let me start by echoing Wes’s words earlier, events at RAF Fairford yesterday are a reminder of the threats our country faces,” he said.
“I want to thank our security services, armed forces and police for the work they did yesterday and they do all year round to help keep our country safe.
“Friends, we will always stand up for our security against those who would do us harm.”
The comments came after Miliband faced criticism for being photographed shaking hands with Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi at the United Nations. Sky News has reported that counter-terrorism police are investigating whether Iran is linked to the Fairford incident.
Miliband used his conference address to argue that Britain’s security and economic interests are increasingly tied to Europe.
“We are part of this fight as humanitarians, but also as proud Europeans,” he said.
“This is our continent.
“And if there is one lesson that I have seen demonstrated to me again and again in this job, it is this: Europe is not just our geography, but so much more.”
He said Europe was central to how Britain pursued its interests across climate policy, trade, defence and international alliances.
“So it is not simply Britain acting alone, but Britain with others,” Miliband said.
“And on economics, on defence, on security.
“I say to this conference, our future lies in a stronger, deeper partnership with the European Union.”
The most sustained applause of the speech came when Miliband turned to the Middle East and criticised the Israeli government’s actions in Gaza and the West Bank.
He reiterated Labour’s support for a two-state settlement, saying the objective remained “a secure Israel and a secure Palestine, with freedom, dignity and self-determination for both peoples”.
Miliband condemned Hamas’s October 7 attack while stressing that Labour opposed antisemitism and supported Israel’s right to security.
But he added: “This cannot justify the suffering the Netanyahu government has inflicted in Gaza and the West Bank.
“This suffering, this suffering is a stain on the conscience of the world.”
He then addressed those in Britain who had expressed anger over the treatment of Palestinians.
“And I want to say to the millions of people in this country and indeed elsewhere, who have been moved and outraged by the plight of the Palestinian people. We hear you. You were right.”
Miliband said the government under Andy Burnham had undertaken a “reset” in its approach, including condemning what he described as “ethnic cleansing by the settler terrorists in the West Bank”.
He also restated Britain’s sanctions on trade originating from illegal Israeli settlements.
The speech marked a broad statement of Labour’s emerging foreign policy: deeper institutional ties with Europe, continued support for Ukraine and a more critical approach to Israel’s conduct in the occupied Palestinian territories, while maintaining opposition to antisemitism and support for Israel’s security.
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