UK's Sunak to speak in Downing Street later on Friday

Last week, parliamentary speaker Lindsay Hoyle sent parliament into chaos when he broke with precedent to allow a vote which helped the opposition Labour Party avoid a large-scale rebellion among its own lawmakers over its position on the Israel-Hamas war. Lawmakers from Sunak's Conservative Party and the opposition Scottish National Party (SNP) left the debating chamber in protest, while Hoyle later apologised.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will make a statement from outside his Downing Street office at 1740 GMT on Friday, speaking about recent events including in parliament, a source in his office said.

Sunak is not using the address to call a national election, the source added. Last week, parliamentary speaker Lindsay Hoyle sent parliament into chaos when he broke with precedent to allow a vote which helped the opposition Labour Party avoid a large-scale rebellion among its own lawmakers over its position on the Israel-Hamas war.

Lawmakers from Sunak's Conservative Party and the opposition Scottish National Party (SNP) left the debating chamber in protest, while Hoyle later apologised. Sunak has called on all sides to "take the heat" out of the issue but some Conservatives have been accused of Islamophobia in their responses. They deny the charge.

The conflict in the Middle East also featured heavily in a by-election in northwest England on Thursday, won by veteran left-wing political maverick George Galloway.