THE Israeli government spent more than £50,000 on a trip for senior Reform UK officials.
The National previously reported on how Israel is ramping up its lobbying of Nigel Farage’s party – including how the party’s deputy leader Richard Tice visited Israel on a £6500 trip last year paid for by the newly founded Reform Friends of Israel group.
But now, Declassified UK have reported on a separate trip weeks after – in November 2025 – which saw Tice’s chief of staff join several other Reform figures on another trip to Israel.
This included a visit to the Golan Heights, which is internationally recognised – by the UN, the EU and the overwhelming majority of states – as occupied Syrian territory.
They also visited Israel’s police headquarters, which is run by far-right national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.
Ben-Gvir was sanctioned by the UK Government last year, accused of inciting “extremist violence and serious abuses of Palestinian human rights".
The far-right minister previously sparked several diplomatic incidents after sharing a horrific video showing Gaza flotilla activists being brutally assaulted by his police force.
I am in Israel having important meetings with Ambassadors, diplomats, Foreign Minister Sa’ar, hostage families, Nova survivors & hugely successful entrepreneurs. Confirming that we @reformparty_uk stand strong with Israel and look forward to working closely together after we… pic.twitter.com/KTVDCfxaFB
— Richard Tice MP 🇬🇧 (@TiceRichard) September 28, 2025
But now, newly released Israeli government data found by Berlin-based journalist Yossi Bartel and reported by Declassified has revealed that the trip was funded by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the tune of more than £50,000.
It comes after a petition on the influence of the Israel lobby in UK politics was discussed by MPs last month.
The petition called for an investigation into the scope and sway of pro-Israel lobbying in the UK.
Responding for the UK Government , Cabinet Office minister James Frith said there would not be an inquiry “solely on pro-Israeli influence”.
The debate led to outrage from some parliamentarians, complaining that the petition itself was antisemitic.
Meanwhile, others took the chance to highlight instances of pro-Israel interference of UK politics and argued that Israel was held to a lower standard than countries such as Russia or China.
