Will the Tories suspend Alan Duncan?

Oh dear. Sir Alan Duncan is at it again. Back in April the former Tory minister was investigated by the Tory party after claiming the Conservative Friends of Israel group was ‘doing the bidding’ of the Israeli prime minister. Amid accusations of antisemitism, he called for Lord Polak, CFI’s former head, to be ‘removed from the Lords because he is exercising the interest of another country not that of the Parliament in which he sits.’ It prompted a stinging response from the Board of Deputies who said his ‘disgraceful’ words ‘effectively accuse two Conservative peers, one of whom is Jewish, of dual loyalties.’

Having survived that furore, it seems Duncan has learned nothing from the experience. For yesterday the Sun revealed that the former Foreign Office minister has claimed Robert Jenrick’s Jewish ‘family connections’ lie behind his pro-Israeli stance. In comments on the Palestine Deep Dive YouTube channel, Duncan said the Conservative leadership contender was an ‘extremist’ who ‘takes his script’ from Israel.