Inside the surreal UK parliament debate on proIsrael influence dominated by lobby group members

The UK parliament's Westminster Hall saw a highly unusual debate on Monday evening on a petition to "call a public inquiry into pro-Israel influence on politics & democracy".

The petition, which received more than 118,000 signatures from members of the public, said: "We are concerned about reported Israeli state-linked and pro-Israel lobbying activity in UK politics. We believe it is important to determine the scope and impact of any such influence campaigns."

Petitions to parliament which receive more than 100,000 signatures are always debated on.

However, this debate consisted mainly of Conservative and Labour MPs who are members of pro-Israel groups saying the petition was antisemitic, while a minority who spoke in favour of it posed detailed questions about lobbying and transparency which went unanswered.

James Frith, a government minister and the parliamentary under-secretary of state for digital government, said that "the government do not support a public inquiry solely on pro-Israeli influence".

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He added: "The UK and Israel have a deep and enduring relationship. Seventy-six years ago, we were rightly proud to recognise the state of Israel. Our commitment to the security of it and its people remains unwavering."

He further said: "We should condemn the readiness, ease and tendency to hold 300,000 British Jews collectively accountable for the actions of the Israeli government."

At that point, Independent MP Adnan Hussain stood up and said: "Can I ask the minister why so many in this house, including himself, conflate the Jewish faith and Jewish people with the actions of the state of Israel?"

Hussain added: "The petition does not do that, and that is not what has been said in this house.

"No matter how uncomfortable it may be for some in this chamber, the state of Israel stands accused of committing genocide in Gaza. Does he agree?"

Frith replied: "I do not agree with that."

Relevant to the debate, Frith is a member of the lobby group Labour Friends of Israel (LFI) and has been on trips to Israel organised by the group.

'This is not about Jewish communities'

Conservative MP Andrew Mitchell, who was a minister in the foreign office under the last Tory government during Israel's genocide in Gaza, asked: "Why is Israel singled out in this way? Why not Gulf countries, Iran, eastern Europe or the USA?"

He said: "I fear the whole thing smacks of an antisemitic conspiracy theory."

Mitchell visited Israel in May 2025 on a trip funded by the lobby group Conservative Friends of Israel (CFI).

An investigation into foreign financial interference in British politics whose findings were published in April, the Rycroft Review, concluded that the UK "faces a persistent problem of foreign interests seeking to exert influence on, and to interfere in, our politics".

Later in the debate, Independent MP Iqbal Mohamed remarked: "On the point about Israel being singled out, the Rycroft Review focused specifically on Russia and China, and did not mention Israel once.

"It was correctly carried out and nobody had any objections."

Meanwhile, Tory MP John Lamont said: "For centuries, at the heart of antisemitism has been the claim that Jews exercise secret control over governments, political systems, financial institutions, the media or public life... Rather than speaking explicitly about Jews, some speak about Zionists, the lobby, hidden influence networks or pro-Israel control."

Lamont has visited Israel with CFI in the past, including last year.

During the debate, Independent MP Ayoub Khan said: "This is not about Jewish communities or Jewish identity, and it is not about denying anyone the right to advocate for Israel, Palestine or any other state.

"Lobbying is part of our democracy, but when such practices are shrouded in secrecy while shifting huge sums of money, we must ask, are this government truly committed to cleansing our politics of foreign influence, or are they just concerned with blocking the foreign donations they do not get?"

Khan added that "this year, Labour Friends of Israel, which funded many cabinet members, was reported to the electoral commission over concerns about opaque funding arrangements.

"Ministers in this government publicly identify themselves as members of that organisation, yet it is not registered as a members’ association, and therefore avoids the further disclosure requirements that accompany that status. That cannot be right."

Khan further said: "Electoral records show that the Israeli ministry of foreign affairs has provided financial support to UK parliamentarians. That must be transparent."

Afterwards came a contribution from Labour MP Peter Prinsley, who was earlier this year found in breach of parliamentary rules for failing to declare a trip to Israel funded by Labour Friends of Israel.

He said: "Shame on those who have orchestrated this regurgitation of antisemitic tropes. It is ancient just as it is predictable."

Prinsley added: "In 1190, 57 Jews were slaughtered in Bury St Edmunds, then Norwich, Lincoln and York. Our country has a terrible record of anti-Jewish hatred, and all the Jews of England were expelled in 1290."

Israel 'meddling in our politics'

Reform's deputy leader Richard Tice, who visited Israel and met Israeli ministers last November on a trip funded by Reform Friends of Israel (RFOI), stood up and declared: "This motion is antisemitic in its very motivation and at its core. As such, we should utterly reject it."

He said that Britain should want "more AI experts from Israel sharing that best practice and knowledge for the benefit of all of us".

Independent MP Iqbal Mohamed intervened to ask whether Tice believed "that we need more of the AI weapons that Israel has used to shoot at children’s genitalia in Gaza".

Tice responded: "The use of AI across society, and its applications in all industries, are changing rapidly, but I gently suggest to the honourable gentleman that the best way to guarantee peace is to prepare for war so that our opponents respect us."

'Pro-Israeli lobby groups have paid hundreds of thousands in political donations'

 - Tahir Ali, Labour MP

Labour MP Tahir Ali argued that Israel has been "meddling in our politics", referring to an Al Jazeera report in 2017 that a senior Israeli embassy official said he wanted to "take down" former Tory minister Alan Duncan for his criticism of Israel, for which the Israeli ambassador later apologised.

Ali said: "Pro-Israeli lobby groups have paid hundreds of thousands in political donations in the UK. The amount of evidence, which I will refrain from sharing due to limited time, is countless."

He cited a 2024 report by Declassified UK that "13 of the then 25 members of the Labour Cabinet received hundreds of thousands in donations from pro-Israel donors, and that some 180 of Britain’s 650 MPs had accepted such funding during their political careers.

"That is one in four elected members."

He further pointed to reports that in December 2024, "representatives of Elbit Systems met Home Office officials in a private meeting... Elbit Systems benefits from substantial British defence contracts."

Elbit Systems

Fellow Independent MP Shockat Adam also discussed Elbit, Israel's largest weapons manufacturer.

Adam said it was "deeply alarming that freedom of information disclosures reveal repeated meetings between Elbit executives and the Home Office. Briefing papers show that ministers were preparing to reassure the company in response to Palestine Action protests."

Adam added: "It is disturbing that, while ministers meet privately with executives from a company whose weapons are alleged to have been used in acts now under scrutiny before the international courts, those who want to challenge those activities through protest increasingly face being associated with terrorism."

The government banned Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation last summer.

Adam asked the government: "Why was an arms manufacturer being reassured by government departments while international legal proceedings over the genocide in Gaza continued?"

Ultimately, the minister, James Frith, did not answer these questions or agree to an inquiry, instead reaffirming the "deep and enduring relationship" between Britain and Israel. 

But the debate did feature the airing of facts about Israeli lobby groups and meetings between ministers and Elbit Systems which are rarely discussed in public forums in Westminster. 

Israeli forces have killed more than 73,000 Palestinians since the Hamas attack on 7 October 2023, which killed 1,200 people. At least 173,000 Palestinians have been wounded. Thousands more in Gaza remain missing and are presumed dead beneath the rubble.

The UK has cooperated militarily with Israel throughout its genocide in Gaza, including by sharing intelligence from surveillance flights over Gaza, which the Ministry of Defence has said were solely for "hostage rescue" purposes. 

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