Britain must step up and lead the Middle East peace process because the Trump administration is dismantling it, the Palestinians' new chief diplomat in the UK has told Sky News.

In an exclusive interview on his first day in office, Dr Husam Zomlot said the UK must become the world's leading mediator between Israelis and Palestinians for the good of both Britain and the US.

He said: "Best friends are there to fill the vacuum if the vacuum is going to be dangerous for your old friend which is America. Fill it. This is a moment of leadership I tell you."

Dr Zomlot was the Palestinian envoy to Washington until a month ago when the Trump administration shut down the Palestinian diplomatic mission in the US capital - revoking his visa and those of his wife and two young children.

It was an unprecedented move against a diplomat's family.


The closure followed a series of actions by the Trump White House taking sides with Israelis against Palestinians, including recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, moving its embassy there and cutting off aid to Palestinian refugees after decades of financial support

But Dr Zomlot sees opportunity in the current situation for Britain to take a leading role and revive peace efforts.

''There is a role in search for a player. Especially now at this moment of time. I firmly believe that Britain can help at this point in time avoid the chaos that the Trump administration is creating," he said.

The new de facto Palestinian ambassador to the UK is an anglophile with a special debt to the UK.

His life story is an inspiring one. Born into poverty to refugee parents in a refugee camp in the south of the Gaza Strip, he was educated in UN-run schools and won a British Chevening scholarship to the LSE before moving on to spells as a diplomat in London and a scholar at Harvard.

Image: President Donald Trump's administration is dismantling the Middle East peace process, says Dr Zomlot

Dr Zomlot says he is positive about the chances of peace despite the circumstances and its impact on his family. He credits his outlook on his upbringing in Gaza.

"As the son of a refugee family you either live with anger and despair or you are taught by your community that what is important is not what happened to us but what could happen in the future. You must defeat your circumstances," he said.

He believes Britain's historic connection to the region, its investment in the peace process over decades and its unique relationship with Israel, the US, Europe and the Arab world qualify it to replace the US as chief mediator in the peace process.

And he says the British government should recognise the state of Palestine - four years after parliament voted overwhelmingly in support of doing so.

"You cannot claim to believe in the two state solution if you don't recognise the two states," he added.

His untimely removal from Washington is not without some consolation. It is good to be back in the land of fish and chips he says, which is what he has missed most about the UK. And he is returning to one of his favourite cities.

"The moment you arrive in London," he says, "you are as much a Londoner as anyone else. It encourages and celebrates difference".

Dr Zomlot says the UK is like a second home to him, and he will use his time here to press for British leadership in efforts towards peace.