Sir Keir Starmer hailed a “historic day” as key countries agreed President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan and said the UK could play a key role in monitoring the ceasefire.
The Prime Minister was in Sharm El Sheikh to see the US president and fellow negotiators from Egypt, Qatar and Turkey sign the agreement after all 20 of the remaining live Israeli hostages were released by Hamas.
Israel and Hamas were not at the summit.
Sir Keir said: “What happens tomorrow really matters, and that’s why, what I’ve been discussing with leaders all day is, what part can we play?
“And we, the United Kingdom in particular I think, can play a part in monitoring the ceasefire, but also decommissioning the capability of Hamas and their weaponry drawing on our experience in Northern Ireland.
“So the question today has already moved to, how do we implement how do we make sure this moves forward? It’s really important we keep that focus. We mustn’t have any missteps now.”
Sir Keir said he had not put himself forward for a role on the peace board for Gaza to be chaired by Mr Trump, and it was for “others to decide” if former prime minister Sir Tony Blair should be involved.
Sir Tony was among those who queued up to shake hands with the US leader in Egypt and appeared to have the backing of the Palestinian Authority after meeting its deputy chief on Sunday.
But Mr Trump suggested Sir Tony’s involvement on the board that would supervise the governance of Gaza under the plan was still subject to approval.
As he travelled to the Middle East, the US president told reporters: “I like Tony, I have always liked Tony. But I want to find out that he is an acceptable choice to everybody.”
Mr Trump suggested on Monday he might expand the board.
Sir Keir held a series of meetings with leaders in Sharm El Sheikh as they waited for Mr Trump to arrive from Israel, where he met families of hostages and addressed the parliament.