Prime minister and colleagues use political code to push back at proposal without directly criticising US president

By the time Steve Reed, the environment secretary, took to the early morning airwaves, the UK government’s response to Donald Trump’s Gaza plan had been carefully planned out: ministers would push back strongly, but only ever in a form of political code.

Reed gave no direct criticism of the US president or his shock announcement that the US would remove Palestinians from Gaza – a stance repeated as the day went on by Keir Starmer and various Downing Street spokespeople. But Reed said Gaza’s people “must be able to return to their homes and rebuild their shattered lives”.