An ex-Tory minister is under fire for claiming Tory leader candidate Robert Jenrick takes his “script” from Israel and for implying Jenrick’s Jewish “family connections” might be behind his pro-Israel stance.
Sir Alan Duncan, who was investigated and eventually exonerated by his party in April after claiming the Conservative Friends of Israel group was doing “the bidding” of Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is now under fire again for comments he made this week on the YouTube channel “Palestine Deep Dive”.
“Now this man (Jenrick) is an extremist,” Duncan said on the programme, “he does not believe in any kind of two state solution, although he says he does. He knows nothing about it.”
He continued, “he takes his script entirely from the Conservative Friends of Israel and the Israelis, so he would be a disaster if he were leader of the Conservative Party.”
Questioned on why he believes Jenrick, who has a Jewish wife, was a staunch supporter of Israel, Duncan said it is “disgusting extremism born of ignorance”.
“But there’s also family connections which have a Jewish link,” he said. “But just because someone’s Jewish doesn’t mean that they have to agree with Netanyahu.”
Jenrick, who is currently battling Kemi Badenoch to become the next leader of the Conservatives, hit back at the ex-foreign office minister. “There’s a word for those that accuse politicians of being controlled by the Israelis because of Jewish family members.
“Sir Alan has already been investigated for antisemitism once. These views have no place in our party,” he said.
Duncan told The Sun this was an example of “textbook abusemitism”, a term he is attempting to coin that means an unjustified accusation of antisemitism meant to “bully or silence”.
“I will not be silenced. I defend international law. [Jenrick] does not. Will he say unequivocally that all Israeli settlements in the West Bank are illegal? If he does not, then he is not fit to be leader of the Conservative Party,” Duncan said.
In a further statement, he reportedly clarified his comments: “My interview specifically excluded family links as mattering, stating that being Jewish doesn’t mean you necessarily agree with Netanyahu. It’s [Jenrick’s] views as a politician which matter. And he must confirm he agrees with international law and the illegality of Israeli settlements.”
Badenoch called the comments “unacceptable” in a post on X/Twitter.
She said: “As a former Conservative minister, he knows Robert Jenrick is not an extremist. We may have different approaches, but Rob and I are both strong supporters of Israel. It’s time to stop attacking fellow Conservatives. It’s time to unite behind our principles.”
In a statement, the Conservative Party said it “has an established Code of Conduct and formal processes. If a complaint is made it is reviewed thoroughly and may result in an investigation or the matter being dismissed. This process is rightly confidential.”
Duncan – who left Parliament in 2019 – has previously stated, during a conference held by the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians, that Israel should “get out of Palestine”. “It is not your country,” he said.
Duncan was the MP for Rutland and Melton from 1992 to 2019 and has served in ministerial positions under prime ministers David Cameron and Theresa May.
Jenrick has been a consistent defender of the Jewish State, including in its war against Hamas and Hezbollah. He denounced the BBC following the October 7 attacks for failing to describe Hamas as a terrorist organisation, and more recently has promised to move Britain’s embassy in Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and called on the UK government to proscribe Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps as a terrorist organisation. Last month, he wore a jumper with the words “Hamas are terrorists” on it while jogging in central London.
