Israel: DfID Secretary of State Meetings

Lord Collins of Highbury Excerpts

Tuesday 7th November 2017 Lords Chamber

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

My Lords, this is fundamentally about transparency and accountability. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office only became aware of this visit a full day after it had taken place. Numerous meetings had taken place without the FCO being aware. More importantly, no officials from even her own department were aware or present. It appears that the only person who may have been present was a Member of your Lordships’ House. I think that requires proper investigation and a proper declaration of interest.

The noble Lord said that an apology had been made and accepted and that that was the end of the matter. I do not accept that. I hope he will agree that it would be extremely valuable if this matter were formally referred to the Cabinet Office for an investigation, so that lessons can be learned by all concerned. It is not good enough simply to apologise and say that the matter is at an end.

[Lord Bates]

On that point, the Secretary of State made clear the meetings that occurred. In her statement yesterday she said:

“In hindsight, I can see how my enthusiasm to engage in this way could be misread, and how meetings were set up and reported in a way which did not accord with the usual procedures. I am sorry for this and I apologise for it”.


But we need to recognise that the Secretary of State was having meetings in a country that is a major ally, a democracy, a major trading partner and a friend. During part of her trip—this was listed in the meetings that she set out in her statement yesterday—she visited a number of NGOs, including Save a Child’s Heart, which works with Palestinian and Israeli children, and Wheelchairs of Hope. One can see that the Secretary of State was, in her enthusiasm, as she says, carrying out her work passionately even during her vacation. That said, she recognises that the usual procedures were not followed in the way that they should have been. She has learned a lesson from it and the Prime Minister has accepted her apology. That is why we are moving on.