The mother of the only British hostage held by Hamas has shared the heartbreaking letter that she gave Sir Keir Starmer, hoping it will reach her daughter alive.

Mandy Damari’s 28-year-old daughter, Emily, was kidnapped alongside twin brothers Ziv and Gali Berman, 27 in the early hours of Oct 7 last year. All three remain captive somewhere in the Gaza Strip.

Ahead of her speech on Sunday at an Oct 7 memorial event in Hyde Park, Mrs Damari has shared the message she handed to the Prime Minister in Downing Street on Monday.

The mother writes that she hopes the note will reach her daughter when she is “alive and home” with her family, but said that if she reads it in Gaza “know that we all love you and miss you and are sick with worry about what is happening to you every day, and we are praying and meeting whoever we can to get you back home”.

The letter was first published by the Daily Mail. In it Mrs Damari goes on to strengthen her daughter’s resolve, writing: “Please keep strong, keep praying and just be your beautiful self that I love to the moon and back.”