Alan Duncan: UK has lost credibility with 'weak and naive' Israel stance

Former Conservative minister says firm stand against illegal Israeli settlements could have contributed to regional peace

Former Conservative MP Alan Duncan is a longstanding critic of Israel's conduct towards Palestinians. Mona Al Marzooqi / The National

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Britain has lost credibility in the world by appearing to be “complicit with Israeli extremism”, a former Conservative minister has told The National.

Alan Duncan, a foreign and development minister under prime ministers David Cameron and Theresa May, said the UK had been “weak and naive” in failing to stand up to Israel in recent years.

An outspoken Tory critic of Israel, he said Britain could have contributed to regional peace by taking a stand against illegal settlements in Palestine.

The UK’s stance on the Israel-Gaza war will be an important factor for almost a third of voters in Thursday’s general election, an exclusive poll for The National shows.

The Deltapoll survey also found 54 per cent of people in Britain would support banning weapons exports to Israel.

Mr Cameron as Foreign Secretary and Labour leader Keir Starmer both say Britain should recognise a state of Palestine as part of a peace process but have not committed to any timetable.

Settlement debate

During Mr Cameron's time as prime minister, from 2010 to 2016, he received a letter from Mr Duncan in 2013 calling for a tougher line on illegal Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territories.

In a speech in 2014 described as “breathtakingly one-sided” by the Board of Deputies of British Jews, Mr Duncan called for supporters of such settlements to be shunned like racists or sexists.

Britain has publicly criticised the building of illegal settlements in occupied Palestinian territory but international pressure has failed to prevent Israel's construction of them. EPA

The UK has repeatedly described Israel's construction of settlements as illegal but international pressure has failed to halt their construction.

Mr Duncan now says a firmer stand from Britain “could have made a significant difference” to the peace process but said the pro-Palestinian view “never even got a look-in” in Conservative ranks.

“There was basically one view in the party, which trampled on the smaller number of people who perhaps had a better-informed view,” he said.

Later, Mr Duncan said he was denied the role of Middle East minister under Theresa May’s leadership because pro-Israeli Conservatives were “going ballistic” and had lobbied against him.

Asked what he would have liked to do if he had been appointed to the role, he said Britain would have “had much clearer views” on the illegal settlements backed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In a scathing assessment of British foreign policy under successive Conservative governments, he said the UK has “sacrificed a lot of our credibility by being so seemingly complicit with Israeli extremism”.

“Our handling of Netanyahu’s growing extremism in Israel before October 7 was a massive diplomatic failure,” said the former Tory MP, who left Parliament in 2019.

“Let’s face it, there is no peace process. All there is at the moment is an Israeli expansion process into Palestinian land and the more they take, the less chance there will ever be of having a Palestinian state.

“That, of course, is exactly what the Israelis want and we’ve been naïve and weak in failing to stand up to this expansion.”

David Cameron, then UK prime minister, meeting Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu in 2015. Getty Images

Britain has long stated its support in principle but it is only since war erupted in Gaza that Mr Cameron as Foreign Secretary has hinted openly at recognising Palestine.

Spain, Ireland, Norway and Slovenia have formally recognised Palestinian statehood in the hope of putting momentum behind a two-state solution.

US factor

Mr Duncan said Britain had held back from expressing a clearer view because it did not “dare offend America”.

The next UK government should “be prepared to have an opinion, which doesn’t just suck up to the US, whoever is president", he said.

Denying reports that Labour would delay recognising Palestine over fears of angering Washington, shadow foreign secretary David Lammy on Friday said “no country has a veto over UK recognition”.

With Labour also criticised for hesitating to support a ceasefire, there are attempts to mobilise the British Muslim vote at Thursday’s election to send Mr Starmer a message over Palestine.

Analysis by The National shows one in six Muslims in Britain lives in a marginal seat, with 24 such constituencies having a Muslim population of 10 per cent or more.

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