Former MP Alan Duncan cleared of antisemitism accusations by Conservative Party

Former Conservative MP Sir Alan Duncan has criticised the Conservative Party after an internal investigation cleared him of an antisemitism complaint, which he labelled a "McCarthyite witch hunt".

The MP, who held two cabinet posts during the previous Conservative government, was accused of making antisemitic comments during an interview on LBC with Nick Ferrari earlier in April.

During a press conference hosted by the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP), Duncan labelled the investigation "a political scandal which discredits the Conservative Party, and which amounts to a McCarthyite witch hunt which is nothing less than despicable."

He further accused the party of refusing to tell him who the complainant was, and that it had broken its own rules by telling the press about the complaint before him.

During the LBC interview Duncan accused the Conservative Friends of Israel (CFI) of "doing the bidding of Netanyahu [and] bypassing all proper processes of government to exercise undue influence at the top of government".

He also named Lord Polak, head of the CFI, and former Conservative MPs Robert Jenrick, Michael Gove, as well as current MPs Oliver Dowden, Suella Braverman and Priti Patel of supporting Israeli interests at the heart of government.

The complaint made against Duncan said his comments were antisemitic as defined by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, in particular, in reference to his naming of Lord Polak, who is Jewish.

However, the investigation ruled that Duncan's comments did not go beyond political debate and were not against the Conservative Party code or antisemitic.

Although praising the investigative panel, Duncan accused "immoderate defenders of Israeli extremism and figures at the top of the Conservative party" of threatening, bullying and attempting to silence him.

He further accused leaders of the Conservative Party of having a perverse and corrupt relationship with Conservative Friends of Israel, adding that "money, improper influence, and the promotion of Israeli interests above our own, have contributed to the destruction of the UK's independent foreign policy".

The New Arab has requested comment about the investigation, and Alan Duncan's claims, from the Conservative Party but did not receive this at the time of the article's publication.