London: The Israeli embassy in London sought to head off a diplomatic storm on Sunday, apologising after one of its staff was caught on camera threatening to “take down” a British government minister.
The Mail on Sunday newspaper posted the footage showing the embassy employee telling an undercover reporter from Al Jazeera that “I want to take down... the Deputy Foreign Minister” (Alan Duncan) — a long-time critic of Israel, and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson’s second-in-command.
Duncan was “doing a lot of problems,” he added.
The footage was recorded at a restaurant opposite the Israeli embassy in Kensington, west London, during a meeting attended by Maria Strizzolo, senior aide to Conservative Education Minister Robert Halfon.
It was recorded in October 2016 as part of an investigation by Al Jazeera.
Senior Israeli political officer Shai Masot asked her: “Can I give you some names of MPs that I would suggest you take down?”
Strizzolo replied that all MPs have “something they’re trying to hide” and Masot responded by saying “I have some MPs”, adding “she knows which MPs I want to take down” before specifying “the deputy foreign minister”.
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson was described as an “idiot” in the recording
Duncan, who has been critical of Israel, was seen as more of a problem than Johnson who was “basically good”, according to Masot in a transcript of the conversation.
“He just doesn’t care. He is an idiot but has become minister of foreign affairs without any responsibilities. If something real happened it won’t be his fault... it will be Alan Duncan.”
Strizzolo spoke of her influence in helping Halfon become a minister, prompting the embassy staffer to ask her “can you do the opposite stuff as well?”
However, Strizzolo said Duncan would be “impossible to rebuff” due to having powerful “friends”, but then suggested “a little scandal, maybe?”
Masot also mocked “crazy” opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and his “weirdo” supporters.
Crispin Blunt, Foreign Affairs Select Committee chairman, said the “apparent activity of a diplomat of a foreign state” was “formally outrageous and deserving of investigation”.
