Why did UK media ignore Lammy’s secret meeting with Israeli foreign minister?
Foreign Secretary David Lammy, pictured in London on 26 March 2025
Peter Oborne writes in Middle East Eye on 17 April 2025:
In theory, the role of the media is to tell the truth and hold power to account. British newspapers and broadcasters have not fulfilled this function when it comes to Israel and the Gaza war.
On the contrary, British journalists have repeated the lies promoted by Israeli and British politicians. Some have produced fresh lies of their own, effectively acting as the propaganda arm of the Israeli state.
The latest case in point concerns this week’s visit of Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar with his British counterpart, David Lammy. There’s no question this was major news.
Saar was meeting the British foreign secretary just days after Israeli authorities detained and deported two Labour MPs – a month after Israel broke its ceasefire with Hamas, opening the way to a fresh round of atrocities; and almost two months into Israel’s latest illegal blockade of Gaza.
All this amid growing speculation that Israel is pressing for a new war on Iran.
At the same time, Saar is one of the most senior members of a government on trial for genocide at the International Court of Justice in The Hague. The International Criminal Court has also put out an arrest warrant for his boss, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, accusing him of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Saar himself recently attempted to justify Israel’s decision to cut off aid to Gaza, which is an act of collective punishment and a war crime.
No follow-up
Most people would expect such an individual to be treated as a pariah by a British government that regularly waxes lyrical on the “rules-based international order”. Instead, Britain rolled out the red carpet, with one difference: Saar’s visit was kept secret, unannounced by either the Israeli or British governments.