UK trade representative visits Israel after Britain suspends talks

A British trade envoy has visited Israel to "promote trade" between the two countries - a week after the UK suspended talks.

Lord Ian Austin, who is the UK government's trade envoy to Israel, was welcomed to Haifa on Monday, just days after Foreign Secretary David Lammy paused negotiations. The British Embassy in Israel said Lord Austin had visited a number of projects - such as the Customs Scanning Centre, Haifa Bayport, and the Haifa-Nazareth Light Rail project - to "witness co-operation at every stop".

Politics latest: Farage makes multibillion pound spending pledges The independent peer said he was visiting Israel to "meet businesses and officials to promote trade with the UK". "Trade with Israel provides many thousands of good jobs in the UK and brings people together in the great multi-cultural democracy that is Israel," he said.

Last Tuesday, the government confirmed it was suspending its trade negotiations with Israel in the wake of an accelerated military offensive in Gaza and the country's decision to limit the amount of aid allowed into the Palestinian territory. Mr Lammy told the Commons that Israel's actions were "egregious" and amounted to a "dark new phase in this conflict".

But despite the suspension of any new trade talks with Israel, Number 10 has insisted that the UK still has a trading relationship with the country. A spokesperson for the prime minister said: "We have always had a trading relationship, but are pausing any new ones." The UK has sanctioned a number of individuals and groups in the West Bank which it said have been linked with acts of violence against Palestinians - including Daniella Weiss, a leading settler activist who was the subject of Louis Theroux's recent documentary The Settlers.

Israel criticised the UK government action as "regrettable" and said the free trade agreement talks, which ministers have now backed out of, were "not being advanced at all by the UK government". Lord Austin has previously stressed the importance of the UK's trading relationship with Israel, claiming it is "worth billions and brings massive benefits to Britain".

Writing for Politics Home, he said: "It is in our national interest, and the decision this week by the government to pause negotiations on a new Free Trade Agreement does not change that. "The situation in Gaza is terrible, as it is in all wars, and the quickest way to get the aid in and save lives is for Hamas to stop fighting and release the hostages.

That would end the conflict immediately." A government spokesperson said: "We suspended talks with Israel on a new FTA because it is not possible to advance discussions with a Netanyahu government pursuing such egregious policies in Gaza and the West Bank. "Lord Austin is in Israel this week in his capacity as Trade Envoy to maintain our relationship with Israeli businesses.".