Six days ago Breitbart London broke the news that a member of the British Government had paraded around an Islamic Relief charity meeting in the Palestinian Territories wearing a scarf that called for the destruction of the State of Israel.
Following a failure by the British Foreign Office to openly discuss the event, Member of Parliament Bob Blackman called for someone to take responsibility. That someone seems to be the Islamic Relief charity, who were in charge of the event when Dr Alastair McPhail was caught with the ‘Free Palestine’ flag.
The Jerusalem Post reports: “…a clearly embarrassed Whitehall official, who in an off-guarded aside admitted the action was – to say the least – ill advised, declined to comment on the diplomat’s faux pas and instead drew attention to a statement issued by Islamic Relief.”
A statement by Islamic Relief read: “We would like to clarify that the scarf that was worn momentarily by the British consul-general was not given to, or placed on him, by Islamic Relief staff or volunteers. The photograph was posted in error and no political message was intended by its publication. IR Palestine has apologized to the British consul- general for the inadvertent publication of the photograph.”
The JP further noted: “The Foreign Office spokesman emphasized to the Post that the scarf had been placed over McPhail’s shoulders as the photographs were being taken and the garment was removed moments later when other snaps recorded the ceremony.”
When the news originally broke, British Member of Parliament Bob Blackman implied that McPhail’s position was untenable. He told Breitbart London: “Someone who is expressing such views has no place in supporting the government or civil service of the day. The whole purpose behind the peaceful solution is to promote two states side by side. Wiping one state off the face of the map hardly fits with this aspiration”.
The Foreign Office says it considers the matter closed.
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