A SCOTTISH Labour MP has been slammed for taking an all-expenses-paid trip to Israel funded by a Zionist lobbying group.
Graeme Downie was flown out to the Middle East by lobbying group Labour Friends of Israel (LFI), which also paid for his accommodation and food during his visit.
The new MP for Dunfermline and Dollar (below) visited Israel and the illegally-occupied West Bank during the trip, which took place in September last year, before Hamas’s attacks on October 7 sparked the devastating bombardment of Gaza.
According to Downie’s entry in the register of members’ interests, the “fact-finding” trip cost a total of £2200 and saw him meet Israeli and Palestinian politicians, academics, activists and diplomats.
LFI, which is run as a limited company, does not reveal who funds it though its website notes it “does not receive any money from the Israeli government or the Israeli Embassy” and is bankrolled by “the generosity of members of the Jewish community and those who share our commitment to the State of Israel”.
READ MORE: Israel bombs refugee camps in major offensive in West Bank
According to its latest accounts, the company had £94,059 in the bank at the end of December 2022 and employs four members of staff.
Downie has faced criticism for the trip with campaigners claiming it called into question his “integrity and impartiality when it comes to Israel”.
Gerry Coutts, of the campaign group Scottish Friends of Palestine said: “How can Graeme Downie claim to serve the interests of his electorates while being actively courted by pro-Israel lobbies?
“He accepted a fully funded trip to meet with Israeli officials which further puts in question his integrity and impartiality when it comes to Israel, the world’s longest illegal occupation, a well-documented apartheid regime that now stands accused by the International Court of Justice of committing a genocide against Palestinians.
READ MORE: Israel kills five, including two children, in West Bank refugee camp bombing
“The Labour Party has a long history of supporting the Israeli colonisation of Palestine. LFI has existed since the 1950s and does not disclose where it gets its funding but has close ties with the Israeli state.
“What we see here is a foreign state cultivating politicians early on in their careers to serve its interests.”
A spokesperson for Downie said “The trip was undertaken in September 2023 and involved a visit to Israel and an UNWRA refugee camp in the West Bank for meetings with politicians from the Palestinian Authority, third sector groups and charities along and Israeli government officials.
“All declarations have been made in line with parliamentary rules to ensure transparency.”
Downie, a former Labour councillor in Fife, was the only Scottish MP to have recorded gifts from LFI in the latest Westminster register of interests but several other English MPs have.
Labour have faced criticism for their stance on Israel, with the party accused of a sluggish response to concerns the country is committing war crimes in its assault on Gaza.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy has cancelled the previous Tory administration’s objections to international arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders – but has been dragging his feet on whether the UK should ban arms exports to Israel.
LFI was approached for comment.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel