The Conservative chairman has written to his Labour counterpart, Bridget Phillipson, questioning whether new Solicitor General Andy Slaughter’s meetings with Hamas representatives in 2010 live up to the party’s standards.
Kevin Hollinrake's intervention follows Slaughter’s appointment earlier this month as part of Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s Cabinet reshuffle.
Slaughter, the MP for Hammersmith and Chiswick, whose new responsibilities include supervising the Crown Prosecution Service and promoting the rule of law, previously went on a controversial visit to Jerusalem with Jeremy Corbyn, where he met senior Hamas leaders.
In November 2010, he travelled to the Palestinian territories on the £927 fact-finding trip, sponsored by Friends of Al-Aqsa and Middle East Monitor, alongside the former Labour leader.
The group met Palestinian Legislative Council and senior Hamas members Muhammad Totah and Ahmed Attoun in Jerusalem.
These meetings occurred prior to the UK proscription of Hamas’ political wing, which was put in place in 2021.
In his letter to Phillipson seen by the JC, Hollinrake wrote: “There has been reporting that Andy Slaughter, the newly appointed solicitor general, previously travelled multiple times to meet representatives of Hamas in Gaza and the West Bank, alongside Jeremy Corbyn.”
In a separate trip that March, Slaughter visited Gaza and met with members of Hamas and Fatah.
Hollinrake questioned whether Slaughter’s visits to the region “were properly declared, including in March 2010 for which there is no entry in his Register of Members’ Interests.”
He continued: “Will the Labour Party investigate Mr Slaughter’s comments and involvement in all previous delegations, including those with Jeremy Corbyn, that met Hamas?”
The JC understands that Slaughter’s March trip was conducted via the Inter-Parliamentary Union, which did not need to be declared under Parliamentary rules.
Hollinrake also referred to a closed-door vote in the Parliamentary Labour Party in 2018 on whether the party should adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) definition of antisemitism. According to reports at the time, Slaughter was one of eight MPs who voted against the framework.
The Tory MP remarked: “The Labour Party has long had issues with antisemitism within its ranks. Indeed, you have yourself described antisemitism as a ‘terrible stain’ on the Labour Movement.”
“Does the Labour Party consider Mr Slaughter’s previous conduct and remarks to meet the standards that Labour expects of its Ministers?”
He said Slaughter’s appointment had caused “significant angst” within parts of the Jewish community and questioned what “assurances” Phillipson could give “Britain’s Jewish community about Labour’s commitment to tackling antisemitism”.
However, some Jewish figures in Labour have suggested Slaughter was “one of the better ones” during the antisemitism crisis under Corbyn.
One senior source told the JC that “compared to others, at the time he did not engage in anything extreme,” noting that the contentious visits were more than a decade ago.
A Labour Party spokesperson said: “Antisemitism has no place in the Labour Party or in society. The whole Labour Party and Labour Government stand in solidarity with the Jewish community and we remain determined to root out anti-Jewish hate from every corner of our society.
“We are continuing to work with international partners, including the J7, to strengthen the global fight against antisemitism and stand up for Jewish communities wherever they face discrimination, abuse or violence.”
The Attorney General’s Office said Slaughter had “been consistent in condemning the actions of Hamas and has long supported a two-state solution”.
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