• Emily Thornberry, chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee said she was videoed without “knowledge or consent” while she was paying a visit to the Knesset.
• This is not the first time Israel has been trying to influence UK politics.
Emily Thornberry, a senior Labour MP has called British ministers to take action after an Israeli minister secretly recorded their private conversation and shared it online.
Thornberry who is the chair of the Foreign Affairs Committeesaid she was videoed without knowledge or consent while she was paying a visit to the Israeli Knesset by Israeli Deputy foreign minister.
Thornberry highlighted how the footage had not only been posted to Instagram but also shared with The Daily Telegraph, where it was framed in a way that ridiculed her.
She argued that if a British minister had done the same to an Israeli official visiting the UK, it would have been seen as deeply disrespectful.
She said: “We had no knowledge that it was being videoed and assumed, of course, that it would never happen.
“To say that I’m cross might be an understatement.”
Middle East minister Hamish Falconer was asked by Thornberry if he would expect foreign politicians visiting Westminster to be secretly recorded.
Falconer said: “Certainly not. I think that’d be very unusual”.
Not the first time Israel has tried to influence UK politics
In 2017 Priti Patel, was forced to step down as international development secretary after having 14 secret unofficial meetings with Israeli ministers, business people and a senior lobbyist.
It was later revealed that one of the secret meetings she had was with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Israel has a history of influencing policies of both its foes and its allies with the UK only being one small example.
