UK Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said he will refuse an invitation to next month’s state banquet for U.S. President Donald Trump at Windsor Castle, describing the boycott as a protest against Washington’s continued backing of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. In an essay for the Guardian and follow-up broadcast interviews on 28 August, Davey argued that Trump could use his influence over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Qatar and other Gulf states to end what he called “horrifying starvation and death” in the enclave, where local health authorities put the death toll above 62,000. He said he and his wife had “prayed about” the decision and had written to King Charles to stress that no personal discourtesy was intended. The banquet, scheduled for the U.S. president’s 17–19 September state visit, will be the second time Trump has been honoured with such a ceremony in the UK. Davey’s stance echoes that of former Lib Dem leader Vince Cable, who refused to attend Trump’s 2019 banquet under Queen Elizabeth II. Conservative shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel criticised the move as showing “appalling judgment” toward Britain’s “closest ally,” while Davey countered that abstaining was “the one way” to signal to both Trump and Prime Minister Keir Starmer that they could not “close their eyes and wish this away.”