SIR KEIR STARMER has vowed to close a “loophole” that allowed a Palestinian family to remain in Britain after they applied through a scheme designed for Ukrainian refugees.

The Prime Minister said today that the decision was “wrong,” Parliament should set the rules on immigration and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper was “working on closing this loophole.”

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch raised the case at Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs), urging Sir Keir to appeal against the decision and introduce legislation to “clarify the right to a family life” under article eight of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

A mother and father and their four children who were aged 18, 17, eight and seven in September were displaced when their home in the Gaza Strip was destroyed by an Israeli air strike.

They applied to enter Britain using the Ukraine Family Scheme to join the father’s brother, who is a British citizen.

But the Home Office refused their application in May, claiming that they did not meet the scheme’s requirements.

After a first-tier immigration tribunal judge dismissed their appeal in September, a further appeal was granted by upper tribunal judges on article eight grounds following a hearing in January.

Sir Keir told Commons: “I do not agree with the decision. [Ms Badenoch is] right; it’s the wrong decision.

“It should be Parliament that makes the rules on immigration.

“It should be the government that makes the policy, that is the principle, and the Home Secretary is already looking at the legal loophole which we need to close in this particular case.”

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman did not specify what the “loophole” was.

Gaza Families Reunited welcomed the court’s ruling, but the group said the case highlighted the “unjust and arbitrary barriers” preventing Palestinians from finding safety.

A spokesperson said: “We are dismayed by the government’s stated focus on ‘closing the loophole’ that enabled this particular family to flee the bloodshed, rather than providing Palestinians in Gaza with a practical means of reuniting with their loved ones in the UK.

“The temporary ceasefire is a long-overdue halt to the bloodshed, starvation and bombardment that has devastated Gaza for over 15 months, though its longevity is uncertain.

“But as the Home Office’s own arguments in court show, there is still no resettlement route for Palestinians, leaving families trapped in unliveable circumstances.”

“The UN estimates it will take 14 years just to clear the rubble left by Israel’s bombardment. Meanwhile, Palestinians remain at daily risk of death, with no safe way out.”

The group is calling for a Gaza family scheme to enable Palestinians to reunite with relatives in Britain.

“This is not a political game — it is about survival,” the spokesperson added.

“The UK government cannot turn a blind eye to the suffering of Palestinians while recognising the dangers they face in court.

“A clear and accessible pathway must be established, allowing families to recover from the unimaginable trauma they have endured, until it is safe for them to return home.”

In his ruling, Judge Hugo Norton-Taylor said: “We conclude that the [Home Office’s] refusal of the collective human rights claim does not, on the particular facts of these cases, strike a fair balance between the appellants’ interests and those of the public.

“On a cumulative basis, the weight we attach to the considerations weighing on the appellants’ side of the scales demonstrates a very strong claim indeed.

“Put another way, there are very compelling or exceptional circumstances.

“Accordingly, the appellants’ appeals are allowed.”

The judge said the evidence showed that the security and humanitarian situation in Gaza remained “exceptionally dangerous” and “dire.”

He highlighted that the family’s youngest children, now aged seven and nine, are “at a high risk of death or serious injury” daily and that it is “overwhelmingly” in their best interests to be in a safe environment with their parents and siblings.

The Home Office had argued that the lack of a resettlement scheme for Palestinians in Gaza was a “significant” factor and warned that allowing the appeal could set a precedent for other conflict-affected families.

The department also raised concerns about a “floodgates” effect, suggesting that granting entry to this family could lead to similar obligations for others in war zones around the world.

A Home Office spokesman told the Daily Telegraph that it had contested the claim “rigorously,” adding: “The latter court ruled against us on the narrow facts of this specific case.

“Nevertheless, we are clear that there is no resettlement route from Gaza and we will continue to contest any future claims that do not meet our rules.”