The Foreign Office recommended that David Lammy endorse a trade mission to Israel, days after he suspended trade talks and rebuked the country’s government, internal documents reveal.
In an unusual move, officials asked for ministerial advice over Ian Austin’s visit to Israel in late May. Bureaucratic dysfunction meant the trip by the trade envoy went ahead without the support of ministers or advisers.
The Foreign Office had said the peer would not meet any representatives of the Israeli government. But photographs show him with senior Israeli trade officials on two occasions.
Austin also went to a reception at the British embassy where the education minister, Yoav Kisch, gave a speech.
Emails show that Foreign Office officials recommended ministers endorse the visit despite Lammy, who was foreign secretary at the time, suspending talks on a free trade agreement on 20 May.
In a submission prepared for Lammy and Falconer about why the trip should go ahead, a Foreign Office staffer wrote: “[British embassy] Tel Aviv report that the business community in Israel are agitated by yesterday’s announcement. If we were to turn off this visit now, cancelling several visits and meetings, it would send a bad signal.”
The official said the visit would give Austin the opportunity “to explain to Israeli civil society and business … that nothing has changed in our existing trading relationship” and concluded: “We recommend the visit goes ahead. Do you agree?”
Lammy and Falconer did not receive the official’s submission or endorse the trip, a source has told the Guardian. The ministers were unhappy about this, the source added.
One of Austin’s meetings was with Rafael, an Israeli arms company which acquired Pearson Engineering of the UK in September 2022.
Ian Austin, second from right, with Yifat Alon Perel, centre, who is the deputy director of Israel’s foreign trade administration. Photograph: LinkedIn
As well as the Iron Dome air defence system, Rafael develops Spike missiles that appear to have been used by the Israel Defense Forces against targets including a convoy of ambulances in November 2023.
Experts told the Times and the BBC that the missiles were used in an IDF drone strike in April 2024 that killed seven World Central Kitchen aid workers, including three British citizens.
On 28 May, Austin met a Rafael executive responsible for international business development. He was given an overview of the company before an “open discussion on UK-Israel relations, policy, joint R&D and export opportunities from the UK”, according to a briefing pack prepared by officials. The document was released to the Guardian in response to a freedom of information request.
Further details of the meeting were redacted by officials but the pack included lines for Austin to take if asked about export licences and trade talks, indicating the subjects that officials expected might come up.
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The British embassy in Israel publicised some details of Austin’s visit at the time, leading to criticism of apparent incoherence in foreign policy given Lammy’s sharp rebuke of the Israeli government days earlier. The trip was described as one focused on meeting businesses.
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The revelation that Austin met Rafael executives – and that the Foreign Office sought to approve the whole trip, including this meeting, in advance – will spark fresh questions about the government’s relationship with Israel and its defence industry.
The documents also raise questions about briefings from the Foreign Office after details of the trip came out.
In the draft submission to Lammy and Falconer, an official noted that “Lord Austin will not be meeting any representatives from the Israeli government”. When the trip became public, sources claimed he had no scheduled meetings with Israeli officials.
But a photograph shared by a senior British embassy official of Austin’s visit to Haifa on 26 May shows him near Lena Zeiger, an Israeli official responsible for trade policy and international agreements.
Zeiger was also present at a reception held the following day at the British ambassador’s residence in Tel Aviv to mark King Charles’s birthday. Austin attended this event.
Kisch spoke at the reception and, according to the Jerusalem Post, the education minister referred to “a strategic and enduring partnership, anchored in a commitment to democratic principles and international cooperation”. His audience included Austin, members of the Knesset and government officials.
Austin was photographed at the reception next to Yifat Alon Perel, deputy director of Israel’s foreign trade administration. One person present described her as having led negotiations on an Israel-UK free trade agreement.
The Foreign Office referred questions to the Department for Business and Trade, which declined to comment.
Austin made no comment. Israel’s foreign trade administration and Rafael did not respond to a request for comment.
