Conservatives shamefully clear Sir Alan Duncan following use of antisemitic tropes on-air
The Conservative Party has cleared Sir Alan Duncan, a former Minister and MP for the Party, of accusations of using antisemitic tropes on-air, following an investigation.
Sir Alan was under investigation after he suggested in an LBC interview that members of the House of Lords were working at the behest of the Israeli state.
A spokesperson for the Conservative Party said: “Following a two-month investigation, an independent panel has reviewed the complaint and dismissed it.”
A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “This decision is shameful, and the Conservative Party’s rationale is even more insulting. The Party has effectively concluded that an antisemitic trope targeting a Jewish person is not antisemitic if it is in the context of debate about Israel. The implication of this decision, spelled out somewhat more explicitly by Sir Alan Duncan in his statement reacting to the decision, is that antisemitism accusations are used to silence criticism of Israel. The Conservative Party has thus in effect endorsed the Livingstone Formulation as a defence against allegations of antisemitism. This is utterly appalling.
“This judgement totally fails to grasp the gravity of what Sir Alan said and shames the Conservative Party, which claims to stand with the Jewish community. We are aware of members who have resigned from the Party in reaction to this decision.”
This is not the first time that he has drawn links between our Parliament and the Jewish state. In 2014, he delivered a speech in which he said: “We need British Jews for the Conservative, Labour, or other UK parties; not the Israeli lobby for any party. The time has come to make sure above any doubt that the funding of any party in the UK is clearly decoupled from the influence of the Israeli state.”
It was also reported that he said during a BBC interview regarding the speech: “We all know that the United States is in hock to a very powerful financial lobby which dominates its politics.” He did not specify who he believed to be behind this “lobby”.
According to the International Definition of Antisemitism, which has been adopted by the Conservative Party, “Making stereotypical allegations about Jews as such or the power of Jews as collective, such as, especially the myth about a world Jewish conspiracy or of Jews controlling the economy, government or other societal institutions,” is an example of antisemitism.
Campaign Against Antisemitism advocates for zero tolerance of antisemitism in public life. To that end we monitor all political parties and strive to ensure that any cases of concern are properly addressed.
