A former UK ambassador has said it is undeniable that “Islamist entryism” is creating anti-Israel sentiment that is now rife within the Civil Service. The Telegraph has the story.

Edmund Fitton-Brown, who was a British diplomat for more than 30 years, claimed that rising hostility towards the Jewish state in wider society was being mirrored across Whitehall.

His comments came after the Telegraph revealed Foreign Office staff attended an event at the Iranian embassy in London to celebrate the Islamic revolution, just weeks after the regime massacred thousands of its own people.

The department insisted its presence at the party on February 12th – two weeks before the outbreak of the war between Iran, the US and Israel – was a “normal part” of diplomacy.

But Fitton-Brown, who worked for the Foreign Office from 1984-2017, said it exposed how “Islamist entryism” in Whitehall had skewed the debate on the Middle East in favour of the UK’s “enemies”.

He accused the Government of prevaricating on Iran’s behaviour while treating Israel, Britain’s ally, with a “forensic level of scrutiny”, in a sign of “systematic bias” against the Jewish state.

In an article for the Telegraph, he said: “It is hard to avoid the conclusion that another factor has grown in importance, Islamist entryism not just in the Foreign Office but also throughout the Civil Service and a range of other professions.

“We have seen a steady reframing of debates, including in the sphere of national security. Allies portrayed as the problem, adversaries become misunderstood actors with legitimate grievances.

“Hate marches for Hamas and the Houthis show that inversion in society and the Civil Service reflects society. Over time, that inversion produces exactly the kind of misjudgement we saw this week.”

The war in Gaza caused by the Hamas terror attacks of October 7th 2023 has led to a spike in antisemitism in the UK, with a 113% rise in hate crimes against Jewish people.

A study by YouGov last year found that more than one in five Britons now hold or agree with antisemitic views, the highest level since similar surveys began a decade ago.

Worth reading in full.