ANDY Burnham has sparked anger over keeping a controversial peer as the UK's trade envoy to Israel.
Ian Austin, who was elevated to the Lords by Boris Johnson, is tasked with boosting Britain’s trading relationship with the rogue state.
Lord Austin is a deeply controversial figure with a history of smearing his rivals, for which he has been forced to apologise in the past.
Scottish Greens MSP Maggie Chapman said: “Andy Burnham’s decision to keep Ian Austin in post is disgraceful.
“At a time when Palestinians are being subjected to unimaginable suffering, he has chosen an outspoken genocide sympathiser and a defender of the Israeli government’s assault on Gaza to act as a trade envoy.
“Endorsement of someone who has consistently excused the collective punishment of Palestinians is indefensible and completely at odds with any claim that his government will take a principled approach to the horrors being inflicted on the people of Gaza."
A Green Party of England and Wales source told The National: "Ian Austin endorsed one of the most right-wing Tory MPs in 2019 and has been a constant apologist for the Gaza genocide.
"For him to be Andy Burnham's go-to man to boost trade trading with Israel when we need economic sanctions is continuity Starmer at its worst."
During the 2019 election, Lord Austin backed Tory Philip Davies as an "outstanding representative". Davies had previously questioned why wearing blackface was considered "so offensive" and railed against "feminist zealots" at a men's rights conference.
The Daily Telegraph was forced to apologise for a column he had written about Laura Murray – who also received £40,000 in damages – falsely accusing her of being an “anti-Jewish racist” and part of the “vile antisemitism of [Jeremy] Corbyn’s Labour”.
The former Labour MP for Dudley North also falsely accused the Palestine human rights group Friends of Al-Aqsa of being Holocaust deniers, for which he apologised “unreservedly” in 2012, while still a member of the Labour Party.
He later quit Labour in protest over Corbyn’s leadership and was, alongside other prominent internal critics, ennobled by Johnson in 2020.
Amid the genocide in Gaza, Lord Austin has been a defender of Israel’s conduct.
Writing for Politics Home in May 2025 – after the UN special committee had said that Israel was committing genocide against the Palestinian people – he said he would show “solidarity” for the country.
He said: “The situation in Gaza is terrible, as it is in all wars, and the quickest way to get the aid in and save lives is for Hamas to stop fighting and release the hostages. That would end the conflict immediately.
“And let’s not lose sight of what started this war: Hamas deliberately caused the conflict on October 7 when it raped, murdered and kidnapped Israeli civilians, 58 of whom are still held as hostages in Gaza. They knew how Israel would respond and deliberately put civilians in Gaza in harm's way by hiding in residential areas, hospitals and schools. That is why the situation is now so desperate.
“I’ll be visiting Israel next week to show our support and solidarity and to drum up business for Britain.”
George Galloway, the leader of the Workers’ Party of Great Britain, tweeted: “Wait, what? THE Ian Austin? Who campaigned for Boris Johnson against Labour in the 2019 General Election? Blimey, [Burnham] really IS ‘sorry’ over Gaza…”
Labour Friends of Israel, a pro-Israel lobbying group with links to more than a third of Burnham’s Cabinet, welcomed Lord Austin’s reappointment to the role in 2025.
In a statement reported by the Dudley News last year, the group said: “We’re delighted that Lord Ian Austin has been reappointed as UK trade envoy to Israel.
“The UK-Israel trade relationship is worth billions and creates thousands of jobs in both countries. We know Lord Austin will continue his sterling work to strengthen this vital partnership.”
Lord Austin told the paper at the time: "I'm delighted to have been reappointed. Hundreds of businesses and thousands of jobs in the UK including at companies here in Dudley depend on trade and investment with Israel and I'll be doing everything I can to strengthen the relationship between our two great countries.
"Economic growth is the government’s number one mission and I’m looking forward to playing my part in supporting this vital work.”
