THE International Development Secretary has been accused of breaking the ministerial code by holding undeclared meetings in Israel with politicians, business and a powerful lobbyist.
Priti Patel held the meetings without her officials while on a personal holiday in August.
The Witham MP was accompanied by Lord Polak, honorary president of Conservative Friends of Israel, an influential lobby group with access to party donors.
News of the meeting led to speculation Ms Patel was working on a Tory leadership bid.
The BBC said British diplomats in Israel had not been warned of her itinerary, which included a meeting with Yair Lapid, leader of Israel’s Yesh Atid party.
The BBC quoted government sources saying they had been “blindsided” by the trip.
However Ms Patel said Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson had been aware of the visit, and suggested officials in his department had briefed against her because of a Whitehall spat.
The Foreign Office is said to be keen to take over the Department for International Development (DfID), and there had been tension between the two for weeks.
Ms Patel told the Guardian: "Boris knew about the visit. The point is that the Foreign Office did know about this, Boris knew. It is not on, it is not on at all.
"I went out there, I paid for it. And there is nothing else to this. It is quite extraordinary. It is for the Foreign Office to go away and explain themselves."
Lord Polak told the BBC he just happened to be on holiday at the same time as Ms Patel.
He said: “I just joined her for a couple of days, some drinks, some dinner, that kind of thing.
"He [Mr Lapid] is just an old friend of mine. It wasn't anything formal. It is all very innocent."
Jon Trickett, Labour’s shadow cabinet office minister, wrote to Theresa May demanding an inquiry into Ms Patel’s actions, which he said showed a “complete disregard” for ethics.
A DfID spokesman said: “This was a private holiday paid for by the secretary of state herself. This was not a secret visit and while there she took the opportunity to meet some people and organisations.”
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