Israel conspicuously absent from foreign interference report

The government’s ‘Rycroft Review’ report on foreign interference in UK politics has been confirmed as a sham immediately it was published, after it failed to mention Israel a single time. And this is only what Skwawkbox and others predicted, since Starmer minister Steve Reed is a die-hard ‘friend of genocide’ who also didn’t mention Israel once when commissioning it in December 2025.

Israel: those who will not be named

Russia gets seven mentions. Israel – so far ahead of other countries in terms of interference in UK politics that it’s (literally) out of sight – none at all. And Reed is ‘under fire’ for – oops – ‘forgetting’ to disclose just how tight he is with the Israel lobby. Or mention it at all. Just like he ‘forgot’ the massive donations he’s accepted from the Israel lobby:

In fact, its very absence from the report is as clear a demonstration as could be of the extent of its influence. The National describes Reed’s omission as “incredible”, but in the literal sense it’s the absolute opposite: totally believable and unsurprising. Just appalling.

The scale of the farce becomes even clearer when China and Iran get a special mention – just as Israel is looking to drag the UK into its illegal war on Iran. A section titled “How serious is the problem?” of “long-term strategic foreign interference” quotes a government briefing naming those two countries as the crux of the problem:

The UK is a target of long-term strategic foreign interference and espionage from elements of the Russian, Chinese and Iranian states which, in different ways, seek to further their economic and strategic interests and cause harm to our democratic institutions”.

But not Israel. Noooo. No no no no no. Who even is Israel?’, the uninformed reader might ask.

Beep boop

So, a minister superglued to the Israel lobby – which terrifies British politicians and broadcasters alike and believes it is entitled to demand special consideration at every turn – commissions a report that conspicuously omits, completely, any mention of the biggest foreign interferer in UK (and US) politics.

“This is not the droid you’re looking for. Move along, move along.”

Nothing to see here. Obvs.

Featured image via the Canary