Reform UK deputy leader faces inquiry over Israel visit

Richard Tice, the deputy leader of Britain's right-wing Reform UK party, is currently under investigation by Parliament's standards watchdog regarding a September 2025 trip to Israel.

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I am being investigated for standing against antisemitism. You could not make it up.

The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards opened an inquiry on July 28 into whether Tice should have declared that his flights, accommodation, and hospitality were sponsored by Reform Friends of Israel before he spoke in a House of Commons debate on June 22 concerning pro-Israel influence. While the trip was recorded in Parliament’s Register of Members’ Financial Interests, the focus is on whether an oral declaration was required during the debate.

Tice has vehemently rejected the complaint, asserting that the investigation is a result of his stance against what he describes as antisemitic claims about Israeli influence in British politics. He stated on X/Twitter, "I am being investigated for standing against antisemitism. You could not make it up." Tice also alleged that the complaint originated from an "antisemitic anti-Israel lobby group," although the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards does not disclose the identity of complainants during investigations.

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antisemitic in its very motivation and at its core.

The debate in question followed a public petition that gathered over 100,000 signatures, calling for an inquiry into alleged pro-Israel influence. During the debate, Tice dismissed the petition's premise as "antisemitic in its very motivation and at its core," arguing that such allegations echo "the oldest antisemitic trope in the book." He defended parliamentary friendship groups, including Conservative Friends of Israel and Labour Friends of Israel, advocating for their celebration.

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the oldest antisemitic trope in the book