A livid row erupted after Kemi Badenoch mentioned she was “not surprised” that two Labour MPs had been denied entry to Israel. Yuan Yang and Abtisam Mohamed made the journey with charity companions as a part of an MPs’ delegation.
But they had been blocked from the nation as a result of they had been suspected of wanting “to document Israeli security forces and spread hateful rhetoric against Israel”. Speaking on Sky News’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips programme, the Conservative chief mentioned: “I think that every country should be able to control its borders, and that’s what Israel is doing, as far as I understand.
“They gave the explanation why they did not imagine that these individuals ought to are available in based mostly on their legal guidelines. And it is actually essential that we respect different nations imposing their borders.
“Those Labour MPs, according to the Israelis, were coming in to do something that they were not allowed to do, and so I respect that decision.”
Asked whether or not it “seems a bit odd”, Ms Badenoch added: “I’m not surprised.”
But Foreign Secretary David Lammy branded her feedback as “disgraceful”.
He wrote on X: “It’s disgraceful you are cheerleading another country for detaining and deporting two British MPs. Do you say the same about Tory MPs banned from China?
“This authorities will proceed to face up for the rights of our MPs to talk their thoughts, no matter their social gathering.”
In a statement this morning, Ms Yang and Ms Mohamed said they were “astounded” by the decision of the Israeli authorities to not allow them into the country.
They said: “It is significant that parliamentarians are in a position to witness first-hand the scenario within the occupied Palestinian territory.”
They added that they have “spoken out in Parliament in current months” on the Israel-Palestine conflict, and “parliamentarians ought to be at liberty to talk in truth within the House of Commons with out concern of being focused”.
Ms Yang, who represents Earley and Woodley, and Sheffield Central MP Ms Mohamed had been held on the airport on arrival.
https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/2037769/david-lammy-kemi-badenoch-labour-mps-israel