Wife of former Conservative MP and minister makes concerning references to “Jewish lobby” in her political memoir

The wife of a former Conservative MP and minister has been criticised over references to the “Jewish lobby” in her political diaries.

In her new Diary of an MP’s Wife, Lady Sasha Swire, who is married to Sir Hugo Swire, says that an “investigation into the Jewish lobby infiltrating Parliament” was being conducted in 2017 by the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee under the leadership of the Conservative Crispin Blunt MP, who led the Committee at the time.

Although Mr Blunt has long been viewed with suspicion by the Jewish community, the terms of reference of his 2017 inquiry into involvement in Westminster by foreign states and interested parties made no reference to a supposed ‘Jewish lobby’, which is a phrase redolent of antisemitism. It is not clear whether the notion that the inquiry was, despite appearances, in fact designed to investigate supposed “Jewish” influence in Westminster was shared by Mr Blunt or simply an invention of Lady Swire.

A similar reference was made in connection with a 2015 rumour that Jeremy Corbyn might appoint a “Minister for Jews” if he were elected Prime Minister. Lady Swire wrote: “My God, the Jewish lobby will be throwing the kitchen sink at this one!” She also wrote of Mr Corbyn that “the fact he shakes hands with Palestinian freedom fighters” is “the only bit of him I like too.”

The language of a “Jewish lobby” is a staple of antisemitic discourse and has absolutely no place in contemporary political debate. Lady Swire’s casual use of the term in her memoir is revealing.

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.