Foreign Office leaked details of trip, say allies of Priti
ALLIES of Priti Patel believe the Foreign Office leaked details of her clandestine meetings in Israel to damage her.
The former international development secretary was forced to resign following fresh revelations about her secret dealings with the Israeli government in August.
Miss Patel acknowledged she was wrong to hold a string of meetings with foreign politicians, including Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu without officials present.
But friends point out the Foreign Office learned of the meetings in late August but did not apparently pass on the information to Downing Street, which was blindsided by media reports on the issue last week. Miss Patel angered the Foreign Office on her return by suggesting the British aid budget could be used to fund humanitarian operations by the Israeli army in the disputed occupied territory of the Golan Heights, which the UK does not recognise.
One friend suggested the department had taken revenge against her by leaking details of her itinerary.
Reports yesterday said she was livid about her sacking and was ready to ‘go off like a shotgun’. And ministers were facing fresh questions last night over what they knew about Miss Patel’s dealings in Israel.
Labour yesterday tabled dozens of questions in Parliament in a bid to uncover exactly who knew what and when about the secret meetings.
Deputy leader Tom Watson wrote to Theresa May demanding answers – and claimed Miss Patel had met officials from
the British consulate in Jerusalem, suggesting that the Foreign Office was aware of her trip at the time.
A Foreign Office spokesman told the BBC Miss Patel had ‘bumped into’ a Foreign Office official in Israel on August 24, but said she had not informed them of her itinerary.