A furious row erupted after Kemi Badenoch said she was “not surprised” that two Labour MPs were denied entry to Israel. Yuan Yang and Abtisam Mohamed made the trip with charity partners as part of an MPs’ delegation.
But they were blocked from the country because they were 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 leader said: “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 reasons why they didn’t believe that those people should come in based on their laws. And it’s really important that we respect other countries enforcing 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 it “seems a bit odd”, Ms Badenoch added: “I’m not surprised.”
But Foreign Secretary David Lammy branded her comments 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 government will continue to stand up for the rights of our MPs to speak their mind, whatever their party.”
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 vital that parliamentarians are able to witness first-hand the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory.”
They added that they have “spoken out in Parliament in recent months” on the Israel-Palestine conflict, and “parliamentarians should feel free to speak truthfully in the House of Commons without fear of being targeted”.
Ms Yang, who represents Earley and Woodley, and Sheffield Central MP Ms Mohamed were held at the airport on arrival.
