Lammy and Badenoch escalate row over MPs denied entry to Israel

A row has broken out between Kemi Badenoch and David Lammy after the Conservative leader hit back at the Foreign Secretary’s criticism of her “disgraceful” comments about two Labour MPs who were denied entry to Israel.

Mrs Badenoch said it was “shocking” that “we have MPs in Labour who other countries will not allow” in, after Yuan Yang and Abtisam Mohamed were not permitted into the country on Saturday.

The Conservative leader said Labour MPs should “put UK national interest first”, after Mr Lammy criticised her for “cheerleading another country for detaining and deporting two British MPs”.

Mrs Badenoch described Israel as an “ally” and a “democracy” as she responded to Mr Lammy on X, writing: “Perhaps Labour MPs could put UK national interest first and do their jobs instead of campaigning for airports in Kashmir or promoting Hamas propaganda in parliament?”

The Tory leader is facing a backlash after her comments on Sunday morning political programmes in which she also said “countries should be able to control their borders”.

She told BBC One’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme: “What I think is shocking is that we have MPs in Labour who other countries will not allow […] through.”

“If you look at the reasons why the Israeli government has given for why they’re not letting them in, they don’t believe that they’re going to comply with their laws,” she added.

“MPs do not have diplomatic immunity. I believe that the people who represent us in Parliament should be people who should be able to go anywhere in the world and people not be worried about what they’re going to do when they go into those countries.”

Ms Yang and Ms Mohamed, who were on their way back to the UK on Sunday, said they are “astounded” by the decision to not let them into the country.

The Council for Arab-British Understanding (Caabu) and Medical Aid for Palestinians (Map) said they had organised the delegation that included the two MPs.

The organisations said they had been organising such trips for “over a decade” and the group had “informed the UK consul general in Jerusalem of their visit”.

According to the Times of Israel, the MPs were denied entry because they were suspected of wanting “to document Israeli security forces and spread hateful rhetoric against Israel”, citing the population authority.

In a joint statement on Sunday morning, Ms Yang, the MP for Earley and Woodley, in Berkshire, and Ms Mohamed, who represents Sheffield Central, said they had made the trip “to visit humanitarian aid projects and communities in the West Bank” and it is “vital” that parliamentarians are able to “witness first-hand” the situation on the ground in Palestine.

Dame Emily Thornberry, chairwoman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, said that she had spoken to Ms Mohamed and told Sky News that she was “alright”.

She also joined Mr Lammy in criticising Mrs Badenoch, calling her comments “nonsense”.

One of Mrs Badenoch’s shadow ministers said that any MP who goes on an official trip  should be “welcomed in any country”.

Shadow chief secretary to the Treasury Richard Fuller told Times Radio: “They’re going there to be better informed about the situation and then report back to their parliamentary colleagues about what they have found.”

Mr Lammy has said he has spoken to his Israeli counterparts about the incident, and called the situation “unacceptable, counterproductive and deeply concerning”.

Labour Friends of Israel also said that they have raised concerns with the Israeli authorities following the incident.

“Over the years we’ve taken hundreds of MPs to Israel and Palestine,” they said.

“It’s vital that parliamentarians are able to visit and understand the situation on the ground. This is a principle we’d hope all political parties would support.”