Politics latest: Labour frontbencher quits over Gaza stance – as party warns of ‘lost

The conversation with Health Secretary Steve Barclay then turns to news the Cenotaph in Rochdale was graffitied with the words: “Free Palestine.”

“It’s outrageous to have graffiti on a Cenotaph, I think it’s something that people quite rightly, including myself, feel extremely strongly about because the right to protest, the freedoms that we have, are freedoms that we have as a result of the sacrifice that people made in giving their lives.

“It’s something that people will be very sad to see.”

The minister was then asked about Met Police commissioner Mark Rowley’s resistance to stopping pro-Palestine protests going ahead on Armistice Day.

Mr Barclay said it is “provocative to have protests like this on that day, I think there a lot of other days in the year when protests can happen.”

He added it is “important we have the right to protest”, but Remembrance Day is not the correct moment to do so.

The minister said there would be “ongoing discussions”.

“There is a legal threshold and the commissioner is of the view that that legal threshold has not been met,” he said.

“Obviously, the Home Office and colleagues will discuss that over the course of the day.”