The Labour Government has been silent on any plans for Lammy to visit Israel – despite reports last summer that he was planning to go and hold meetings with prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, among others.
At the time, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) declined to comment on the media reports and said that any travel arrangements would be set out in the usual way.
However, photographs of Lammy in Israel have now been shared by multiple Israeli government officials on social media – while the FCDO has said absolutely nothing.
In a press release issued by the UK Government department on Sunday, plans for Lammy to travel to Saudi Arabia to discuss support for Syria were laid out.
It said that meetings will be attended by “the interim foreign minister of Syria, Asaad al-Shaibani, as well as representatives from Bahrain, Egypt, France, Germany, Iraq, Italy, Kuwait, Jordan, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Turkiye, UAE, USA, EU, League of Arab States, and UN”.
It now appears that Lammy travelled from the Saudi Arabia meeting to Israel in secret.
The UK Government has not mentioned the trip or any meetings on any of its relevant social media channels or through any press releases.
READ MORE: ‘Come clean’: UK Government refuses to say who Labour minister met on Israel trip
In contrast, Lammy’s trip to Saudi Arabia has been publicised on his own social media channels and shared by the official FCDO account.
The UK embassy in Israel has shared a speech from ambassador Simon Walters, but does not mention Lammy.
Walters was pictured at an airport alongside Lammy and Israeli ambassador to the UK Tzipi Hotovely, in a post shared by the Israeli official.
Welcome to Israel, Foreign Secretary @DavidLammy 🇬🇧🤝🏻🇮🇱
Looking forward to deepening the UK-Israel partnership and to advancing our shared priorities.
Wishing you a productive and meaningful visit! pic.twitter.com/HojTNIQz4I
— Tzipi Hotovely (@TzipiHotovely) January 12, 2025
“Welcome to Israel, Foreign Secretary [David Lammy],” Hotovely wrote.
“Looking forward to deepening the UK-Israel partnership and to advancing our shared priorities. Wishing you a productive and meaningful visit!”
Gideon Sa’ar, Israel’s foreign minister, also revealed the visit on social media.
“Pleasure to host in Jerusalem my British counterpart David Lammy,” Sa’ar wrote, sharing an image of the two together.
“We discussed a wide range of issues, including Syria, Lebanon and the Iranian threat.
“I emphasized Israel’s intent on securing a hostage deal in Gaza. Israel is a pillar of strength and stability in the region and will remain so.”
It is not clear, beyond Sa’ar and Hotovely, who Lammy has met on his visit.
READ MORE: Labour minister says she doesn’t know ‘what genocidal attitude is’ amid Israel debate
Israeli prime minister Netanyahu is wanted for arrest by the International Criminal Court amid allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Amnesty International has described the situation in Gaza as a “genocide”, a term which Lammy has refuted – suggesting in contrast to international law that not enough people have been killed for it to qualify.
Lammy’s visit to Israel comes after Anneliese Dodds, a minister in the Foreign Office, also went to Israel.
Last month, Dodds met with “counterparts” in the Israeli government – but the Labour administration has refused to say exactly who.
While the meetings are still being kept secret, the FCDO did publicise Dodds’s visit ahead of time. They do not appear to have done so with Lammy.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy went on a secret visit to IsraelSNP MP Chris Law told The National that the Foreign Office was seemingly releasing “information as it deems necessary”.
“Of course it’s not the first time they’ve done this”, he said. “We have been following this previously with Anneliese Dodds. We’ve asked follow-up questions to which we’ve still had no reply.”
He added: “Either this is an issue with a failure of communication of the Foreign Office, or there are questions to be asked of those representing the Foreign Office in government.”
Once again missing in action. Even the UK Foreign office don’t know here he according to their media output.
Thanks to Israel for finding him 👇 https://t.co/t2KKy7dXnt
— Chris Law MP (@ChrisLawSNP) January 13, 2025
On Twitter/X, Law shared an image of Lammy in Israel and wrote: “Once again missing in action. Even the UK Foreign office don’t know [he is here] according to their media output.
“Thanks to Israel for finding him.”
Earlier in January, written answers from Foreign Office minister Hamish Falconer revealed a series of meetings that Labour ministers had held with their Israeli counterparts.