Root out the ‘poison’ of the pro-Israel lobby, says former Tory minister cleared of anti-Semitism
A former Conservative minister and Foreign Office official has been cleared of anti-Semitism allegations following an internal party investigation. Following his exoneration, Sir Alan Duncan issued a stark warning to his party, asserting that if the Conservative Party hopes to recover from its huge defeat in the recent General Election, it must confront and address what he termed the “poison” in its midst.
According to Duncan, this “poison” is the undue influence of pro-Israel lobbying groups, particularly the Conservative Friends of Israel (CFI), on party policy and decision-making. He argued that this influence has led to a distortion of UK foreign policy, prioritising Israeli interests over Britain’s, and has undermined the party’s integrity.
Anti-Semitism allegations against Duncan — a major target of the pro-Israel lobby — stemmed from comments he made during an LBC interview with Nick Ferrari on 4 April. During the interview he took aim at the CFI over its influence on government policy and criticised senior Conservative figures for not acknowledging the illegality of Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories. “The Conservative Friends of Israel has been doing the bidding of Netanyahu,” Duncan told Ferrari, “bypassing all proper processes of government to exercise undue influence at the top of government.”
In a press conference held yesterday by the International Centre for Justice for Palestinians, the former minister revealed the details of the anti-Semitism complaint, describing it as a “political scandal” and a “McCarthyite witch hunt” against him. He explained that the Conservative Party had broken its own rules in handling the complaint, creating a situation he deemed “nothing less than despicable.” The party, he said, informed the press about the allegations before notifying him; failed to specify which clause of the party’s code he had allegedly violated; and refused to provide him with a copy of the complaint.
Two of Israel’s main lobby groups, the highly controversial Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Campaign Against Anti-Semitism, accused Duncan of “peddling anti-Semitic tropes.” However, rather than resigning from the party in disgust, he said that he chose to engage lawyers at considerable personal expense to defend himself against the false allegations.
After weeks of adjudication, the panel investigating the complaint concluded: “The respondent’s comments did not go beyond political debate and so were not regulated by the code and/or as a matter of fact in this case the respondent’s comments were not anti-Semitic and could not properly be regarded as such.” This total exoneration vindicated Duncan’s position and raised further questions about the initial handling of the complaint.
During the press conference, Duncan emphasised that while genuine anti-Semitism should be called out ruthlessly, it should not be used “artificially to divert attention from legitimate criticism of Israel.” He argued that this case exemplified a broader issue within the Conservative Party, what he described as a “perverse and corrupt relationship” between the Conservative Friends of Israel and top Conservative Party officials.
The former minister didn’t mince his words in his criticism of this relationship, stating that it has gone on for too long. He argued that “money, improper influence, and the promotion of Israeli interests above our own [British interests] have contributed to the destruction of the UK’s independent foreign policy.” Duncan further claimed that this influence has undermined UNRWA, the UN and international law, all at the expense of innocent Palestinians.
He pointed to the conspicuous silence about Gaza during the General Election campaign and the lack of discussion about the acceleration of illegal settlement building and settler violence in the occupied West Bank as evidence of this undue influence. “These issues have been buried more quickly than Gaza’s 40,000 dead,” he stated bluntly.
In a call for accountability and transparency, Duncan demanded answers to several crucial questions: Who in Conservative Campaign Headquarters (CCHQ) made the decision to shape and adopt the complaint against him; who instructed a press officer to notify the media; and what contact was there about this between CFI, the then party chairman Oliver Dowden or any others?
Moreover, Duncan called on the Conservative Party to “decouple itself from CFI and direct its efforts to supporting Jewish people within the UK separate from defending Israeli excess.” He also raised questions about past controversies, such as who paid for Priti Patel’s trip to Israel after which she was sacked as development secretary.
Drawing on his experience in the Foreign Office, Duncan revealed that there is “a lot of deep concern amongst officials and ambassadors about this undue influence.” He explained that this concern is often tempered by a reluctance to be at odds with the US, but argued that the UK must have its own clear policy.
In a separate interview, Duncan elaborated on what he described in his diaries as “entrenched espionage” by the Israeli state within the Conservative Party. He explained how proper policymaking processes are bypassed by individuals who go directly to Number 10, often citing concerns about the donor base or offending the Jewish community.
He criticised specific instances of this influence, such as staunchly pro-Israel Michael Gove’s bill to prevent local authorities from boycotting or advocating a boycott of illegal Israeli goods, a move that Duncan sees as being “in direct contravention of our stated policy and in support of illegality.”
The former minister also highlighted the growth of this influence over the past 25 years, fuelled by donor money and what he sees as a growing ignorance about international obligations and the realities on the ground in the occupied West Bank. He lamented the lack of Conservative voices calling out violent Israeli settlers or criticising the systematic demolition of houses and land theft by the Israeli government.
As the Conservative Party grapples with these revelations, it remains to be seen how they will address what Duncan describes as the “poison” in their midst and whether this will lead to any significant changes in the party’s relationship with pro-Israel lobbying groups.
The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.