UK envoy arrives in Israel to 'promote trade' a week after Starmer suspends talks
The UK has sent its Israel trade envoy, Lord Ian Austin, to Israel to "promote trade" - less than a week after suspending free trade agreement talks with Israel over its attacks on Gaza.
On Monday Austin was in Haifa, where he visited the customs scanning centre, Haifa Bayport and the Haifa-Nazareth Light Rail project.
"Greetings from Israel!" the envoy said in a post on X on Monday. "I'm here to meet businesses & officials to promote trade with the UK."
Austin added: "Trade with Israel provides many thousands of good jobs in the UK and brings people together in the great multi-cultural democracy that is Israel."
Just last Tuesday, Britain announced it was summoning the Israeli ambassador in London and suspending its free trade agreement talks with Israel in response to its expanded military operations in Gaza.
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Israel lashed out in response, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accusing the UK of emboldening Hamas.
Austin, who sits as a life peer in the House of Lords, was a Labour MP until he resigned in 2019 under Jeremy Corbyn's leadership, citing the party's alleged failure to tackle antisemitism.
He was appointed trade envoy to Israel under the previous Conservative government.
Islamophobia accusations
Austin faced allegations of Islamophobia in 2021 after tweeting a photo of a fake Ben and Jerry's ice cream flavour called 'Hamas Terror Misu' - in response to the company deciding to stop selling its ice cream in illegal Israeli settlements.
In 2012, Austin had to publicly apologise after he falsely claimed that Friends of Al-Aqsa, a pro-Palestine campaign group, were Holocaust deniers.
Netanyahu accuses UK, France, and Canada of 'emboldening' Hamas after Gaza criticism Read More »
And last year, he was suspended as chair of Midland Heart housing association after posting on social media platform X: 'Everyone, better safe than sorry: before you go to bed, nip down and check you haven't inadvertently got a death cult of Islamist murderers and rapists running their operations downstairs. It's easily done.' He has since deleted the post.
Austin has denied claims of racism and Islamophobia.
Last week, after the UK suspended free trade agreement talks with Israel, Austin wrote a column for PoliticsHome arguing that "thousands of jobs in the UK depend on trade with Israel".
He added: "One in eight of the drugs dispensed by the NHS comes from Israeli companies. Every business and family in the country uses Israeli technology in their homes, computers, cars and phones every day.
"The RAF would not be able to get its planes off the ground, and British soldiers would have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan without Israeli defence equipment."
Great to welcome @LordIanAustin to Haifa!
In a day full of innovation by the Carmel, the UK Trade Envoy to Israel visited the cutting-edge Customs Scanning Centre, Haifa Bayport, the Haifa–Nazareth Light Rail project, and the Technion - witnessing 🇬🇧–🇮🇱 cooperation at every stop pic.twitter.com/v6Rk7BZrgU — UK in Israel 🇬🇧 (@ukinisrael) May 26, 2025
Austin said Britain's "relationship with Israel is worth billions and brings massive benefits to Britain. It is in our national interest, and the decision this week by the government to pause negotiations on a new Free Trade Agreement does not change that.
"I'll be visiting Israel next week to show our support and solidarity and to drum up business for Britain.
"Even without the benefits a new trade agreement would bring to Britain, our message is that we're open for business, so we'll still be encouraging British businesses to export to Israel and Israeli businesses to invest in the UK to create jobs here."
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