Michael Gove was skewered during a live radio interview as he struggled to say whether he believes Gaza is “occupied” by Israel.
The levelling up secretary was grilled by LBC’s Tom Swarbrick as he repeatedly tried to dodge the question.
Gove - known for his staunchly pro-Israel views - repeatedly tried to avoid giving a straight answer to the presenter’s questions before finally doing so. Sort of.
The clash came as Gove published the government’s new definition of extremism, which comes in the wake of months of protests about the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
Swarbrick said: “The UK law recognises Gaza is occupied. Is UK law wrong?”
After a short pause, Gove replied: “No, I think UK law is right, but I think it’s important when we’re dealing with these inevitably sensitive questions ...”
The presenter then interrupted him to say: “So Gaza is occupied by Israel?”
Again avoiding giving a straight answer, Gove said: “At the moment there is a terrible conflict going on there that followed on from the slaughter of ...”
Swarbrick interrupted once more to tell the minister: “We know that Mr Gove, I’m just trying to get what the British government thinks about is going on in Gaza. Gaza is occupied by Israel, isn’t it?”
Gove replied: “Well at the moment an horrific conflict is going on there. Israel understandably wants to ensure that Hamas no longer poses a threat after the events of October 7, but it is also the case that we need to ensure Palestinian people get the aid that they need.”
Trying a different tack, Swarbrick then asked: “Does Michael Gove recognise that Gaza is occupied by Israel?”
The minister once again tried to avoid giving a straight answer, and instead said the government needed to speak “with one voice” on foreign policy.
When the presenter said “that’s not quite a yes”, Gove replied: “It is a yes, but” and then paused again.
Invited to finish his sentence, the minister eventually said: “No buts, it is a yes.”