Rish! tries for gravitas on Middle East but he’s just no longer a serious politician | John Crace

So loitering in Downing Street, online shopping for Adidas trainers or taking the dog for a walk is about as good as it gets for the prime minister these days.

OK, so the escalation of hostilities in the Middle East and the prospect of world war III might be a major concern for the rest of us, but for Sunak it is a blessed relief.

gets blamed for almost everything these days: small boat crossings, deportation flights to Rwanda, the recession, government debt, the NHS, problems with donors accused of racism.

Because there isn’t anyone – not even the delusional Liz Truss(more of her later) – who thinks Sunak is responsible for the hostilities between Israel, Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran.

It was a predictably smiley Sunak, then, who sauntered into the Commons shortly before 3.30pm on Monday to give a statement on the Iranian attacks on Israel at the weekend and the involvement of the RAF in defending against them.

Starmer’s one point of difference was to remind Israel that maybe it was a piss-poor idea to bomb diplomatic buildings, regardless of how many undesirables may be taking shelter inside.