Boris Johnson, the new Foreign Secretary, has a history of support for Israel.

In November 2015, during a trip to Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Ramallah, he told reporters that he could "not think of anything more foolish" than the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement.

Mr Johnson, who was appointed by new Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday evening, described Israel as "the only democracy in the region - the only place that has, in my view, a pluralist, open society. Why boycott Israel?"

As a result of his comments about the boycott, a Palestinian youth group cancelled its invitation to him. The Sharek Youth Forum said that Mr Johnson "fails to acknowledge our very existence as Palestinians".

While visiting Yad Vashem on the same trip, the former London Mayor was visibly distressed, saying: "It is an incredibly emotional experience. There are many moments in the tour when quite naturally you find yourself starting to weep; it's a very, very powerful thing.

He signed Yad Vashem's guest book with a note saying that "one must never forget the truth of what happened".

However, the prominent Brexit supporter - who had a Jewish great-grandfather - has been criticised for comparing the European Union to the Nazis.

During the build-up to last month's EU referendum, he wrote in the Telegraph that Adolf Hitler and the EU both had the intention of unifying Europe under a single "authority".

Amber Rudd, who has been appointed Home Secretary, toured Israel in 2012 and has also visited Auschwitz. Ms Rudd, who was Energy Secretary in David Cameron's cabinet, was one of nine MPs who went on the Conservative Friends of Israel trip to Israel as part of a business and security delegation.

She has also attended Holocaust Memorial Day events in her Hastings and Rye constituency.