DAILY MAIL COMMENT: Foreign Secretary David Lammy is failing Britain badly

In the boiling cauldron of the Middle East, a crack team of spies intercept and booby-trap a consignment of electronic devices destined for a terrorist group.

Months later, when the militants have shared the gadgets among themselves, the shadowy unit strikes. Via a remote signal, it detonates explosives concealed in the technology – causing carnage among the enemy.

If this was the plot of a Hollywood thriller, viewers might consider it barely believable. But this week, these extraordinary scenes have played out in real life.

On Tuesday, hand-held pagers owned by Hezbollah terrorists blew up simultaneously across Lebanon and in Syria. At least 12 people were killed and about 3,000 injured.

Then yesterday, walkie-talkies used by the Lebanese militia exploded en masse, leaving more dead and wounded.

A video grab which shows a walkie-talkie that was exploded inside a house, in Baalbek, east Lebanon

Earlier this month Foreign Secretary David Lammy (pictured) blocked the sale of certain arms to Israel

The finger of blame has been pointed at Israel and its Mossad spy agency, although Tel Aviv has not confirmed its involvement.

But who else has the motive and technological capability to carry out such an audacious, complex and deadly strike?

Tragically, not every victim was a Hezbollah member. However, the overwhelming majority of devices blew up in the hand or pocket of their intended targets. It would be difficult to conceive of a more sophisticated and precise attack.

Predictably – and shamefully – some on the Left are shedding tears for Hezbollah.

Don’t they understand that this was not some unprovoked act of aggression? On October 7 last year, Hamas slaughtered some 1,400 Israeli citizens in cold blood.

A day later, Hezbollah – another of Iran’s proxies – began to pound northern Israel with rockets from Lebanon. Israel, rightly, wants to bring an end to the barrage so 60,000 of its displaced citizens can return home.

The bombings were undoubtedly a spectacular coup for Israel. The terror group has been humiliated, its communications are damaged and its fighters dead or injured.

But Hezbollah has sworn revenge – and amid fears the situation will escalate into full-blown war the world watches with trepidation.

At a time of such tension, Britain needs a sure-footed and clear-sighted statesman at the Foreign Office. Dispiritingly, we have the deeply unimpressive David Lammy.

People and first responders gather at the scene of a reported device explosion in Saida in southern Lebanon on September 18

Within hours of him delivering the most asinine speech by a foreign secretary for many a year, the pagers were exploding in Lebanon. His claim that climate change posed a greater threat than war and terrorism couldn’t have been more lamentably wrong.

Mr Lammy’s priorities seem badly skewed. With conflicts raging, why is his department wasting time virtue-signalling by flying a flag to mark Bisexual Awareness Week?

This extends to his policies, too. Earlier this month, the Foreign Secretary blocked the sale of certain arms to Israel – a disgraceful insult to our ally on the day it buried six hostages mercilessly executed by Hamas.

The ham-fisted example of how not to conduct diplomacy was so Labour could appease Muslim voters. Yet if Israel retaliates by withholding military equipment from our Armed Forces, it will jeopardise Britain.

In the Mail today, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu contrasts the Tory government’s ‘clear support’ for his nation, with Labour’s ‘mixed messages’.

People react after a reported explosion occurred during the funeral of those killed when hundreds of paging devices exploded across Lebanon the previous day, in Beirut’s southern suburbs on September 18, 2024

Benjamin Netanyahu has accused Labour of undermining Israel as a second wave of booby-traps rocked the Middle East. Pictured: Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a news conference in Jerusalem on September 2

In a withering denunciation of the Starmer government, he says: ‘They claim that Israel has a right to defend itself, but they undermine that ability to exercise that right.’

Israel is in an existential battle for survival against genocidal maniacs.

Britain should instinctively know which side to take. It’s profoundly troubling that this Government seems not to.