Omissions in BBC report on denial of entry to British MPs
On April 6th a report headlined “Two MPs ‘astounded’ after being denied entry to Israel” was published on the BBC News website’s ‘Middle East’ page. Credited to Aleks Phillips and Ruth Comerford, that report is just one of several items relating to a story which was promoted heavily by the BBC on multiple platforms.
The events at the core of the story are presented by Phillips and Comerford as follows: [emphasis added]
“Yang, the MP for Earley and Woodley, and Mohamed, the MP for Sheffield Central, flew to Israel from London Luton Airport with two aides on Saturday afternoon.
The Israeli immigration authority said Interior Minister Moshe Arbel denied entry to all four passengers after they were questioned. It accused them of travelling to “document the security forces”. […]
The UK Foreign Office said the group was part of a parliamentary delegation. However, Israel’s immigration authority said the delegation had not been acknowledged by an Israeli official. […]
Israel’s Interior Ministry said the MPs left the country early on Sunday.”
The story behind that “parliamentary delegation” claim is explained – citing an official statement – at the Times of Israel:
“Mohamed and Yang landed in Israel at 2:30 p.m. Satuday on a flight from Luton, England, along with two of their aides. While being interrogated, the two MPs — who both call for boycotting Israel — claimed to have arrived as part of an official delegation on behalf of the UK parliament, but the claim was found to be false as no Israeli entity had verified the arrival of such a delegation, the Interior Ministry’s Population and Immigration Authority said in a statement.
Interior Minister Moshe Arbel, therefore, decided to deny entry to all four individuals “in accordance with the law and ordered their removal from Israel,” according to the statement.”
As Phillips and Comerford’s own report goes on to state, the two MPs were in fact on a trip organised by two anti-Israel NGOs:
“Mohamed and Yang said their trip had been organised with UK charities that had “over a decade of experience in taking parliamentary delegations”. […]
The Council for Arab-British Understanding and Medical Aid for Palestinians – the latter of which is a registered UK charity – said in a joint statement that they had organised the trip.
“This visit was part of that long-standing programme,” they said.
“When questioned, the group was clear, open and transparent about the aims and objectives of the visit, which included visiting a range of projects run by humanitarian and development organisations operating in the West Bank.
“The group had informed the UK consul general in Jerusalem of their visit and was planning to meet with them as part of the itinerary.””
Notably, Phillips and Comerford had nothing to tell BBC audiences about the Council for Arab-British Understanding (CAABU) or Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) , their anti-Israel records or their years of collaboration organising “delegations to Palestine”.
“Caabu organizes “fact-finding” visits to the West Bank, together with Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP), to disseminate an anti-Israel narrative to British parliamentarians, journalists, and EU politicians. According to Caabu, “A major aspect of Caabu’s parliamentary work involves taking delegations of politicians out to the Middle East, in order for them to develop a better understanding of the region and its key issues.”
According to Caabu Director Chris Doyle, “The overwhelming majority of delegates return energised by what they have seen and with a sense of duty to address the injustices they have witnessed. More than anything, there is a desperate need to find new ways to resolve this protracted conflict.”
In May-June 2023, MAP and Caabu led a delegation with Members of Parliament to “see the lived experience of Palestinians living under occupation and systemic discrimination, and how the regime of apartheid operates.” “
Regarding the activities of the two MPs (including support for boycott campaigns), readers are told that:
“Both Yang and Mohamed – who were first elected in 2024 – have made several interventions on the Israel-Hamas conflict in Parliament.
In February, Mohamed initiated a cross-party letter, signed by 61 MPs and lords, calling for a ban on goods from Israeli settlements on Palestinian territory, citing an opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
She has also criticised Israel for withholding humanitarian aid from Gaza, telling the House of Commons in October that international law “prohibits the starvation of civilians as a method of warfare”, and has mentioned humanitarian organisations’ claims of “ethnic cleansing” in Gaza.
In January, Yang spoke in favour of bringing sanctions against Israeli ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, after they suggested building Israeli settlements in northern Gaza to encourage Palestinians to leave.
She has also highlighted the dangerous conditions journalists and medical professionals face while in the Palestinian territory.”
However, Phillips and Comerford did not bother to inform their readers that a law barring boycott supporters from entering Israel was passed eight years ago.
Paragraph four of the report tells BBC audiences that:
“Foreign Secretary David Lammy criticised Israeli authorities, describing the move as “unacceptable, counterproductive, and deeply concerning”.”
Later, readers find the following:
“Lammy said the Foreign Office had been in touch with both MPs to offer support, adding: “I have made clear to my counterparts in the Israeli government that this is no way to treat British parliamentarians.””
Another Labour MP is quoted as follows:
“…Emily Thornberry, the Labour chair of the foreign affairs select committee, […] described Yang and Mohamed as “highly respected parliamentarians” and “potential leaders”.
“Israel is badly advised to try and alienate them, to humiliate them and to treat them in this way,” she told the programme.
“I think that it’s an insult to Britain and I think it’s an insult to Parliament.””
Notably, Phillips and Commerford had nothing to tell their readers about a previous Labour government’s banning of an Israeli politician in 2008 and no mention is made of the fact that the UK government has ‘wide discretion to ban foreign nationals from the UK if their presence is not considered “conducive to the public good”’ – a power which successive Home Secretaries used to order the exclusion of 369 people from the UK between May 2010 and December 2022.
Members of the BBC’s funding public would no doubt have found such information and context helpful to their understanding of the melodramatic reactions from their foreign secretary and additional MPs, including the two who are the topic of the story.
Hadar Sela was born in the north of England and has lived in Israel for over three decades. She has a special interest in the influence of the media on the British public’s perceptions of the Middle East and the Islamist networks operating in the UK and has written pre-emptive reports on several anti-Israel campaigns, including the flotillas and the Global March to Jerusalem in March 2012. Hadar’s work has been published in the Jerusalem Post, The Algemeiner, The Commentator, MERIA Journal and at Harry’s Place, among others.
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