Priti Patel resigns after holding secret meetings in Israel

The UK’s secretary of state for international development, Priti Patel, has resigned on Monday for having undisclosed meetings with senior Israeli politicians in August.

Patel, a member of the Conservative Party, was summoned to Downing Street and forced to cut short a pre-organised trip to Uganda as the scandal ricocheted online and in UK media.

In a letter to UK Prime Minister Theresa May, Patel apologised and admitted that her actions “fell below the standards of transparency and openness”.

“I accept that in meeting with organisations and politicians during a private holiday in Israel, my actions fell below the high standards that are expected of a Secretary of State” wrote Patel.

“While my actions were meant with the best of intentions, my actions fell below the standards of transparency and openness that I have promoted and advocated.”

Calls for her to step down came after she had recommended money from her office be given to the Israeli army’s ongoing “humanitarian operations” in the occupied Golan Heights.

Among the politicians Patel met during her visit to Israel includes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Yuval Rotem, who heads Israel’s foreign ministry.

 

Read the whole story from Middle East Eye.

Featured image courtesy of Wikimedia