Exclusive: No 10 knew about Patel meetings

Number 10 instructed Development Secretary Priti Patel not to include her meeting with the Israel foreign ministry official Yuval Rotem in New York on 18 September in her list of undisclosed meetings with Israelis which was published on Monday, the JC has learned.

Ms Patel listed 12 meetings in the statement, and the emergence of two more last night is thought to have made her sacking imminent.

But the JC understands, from two different sources, that Ms Patel did disclose the meeting with Mr Rotem but was told by Number 10 not to include it as it would embarrass the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

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In addition, Prime Minister Theresa May spoke to Ms Patel in advance of the UN General Assembly and they discussed the Development Secretary’s meeting with Mr Netanyahu, as well as the details of Ms Patel’s plan for UK aid to be shared with the Israelis. Mrs May agreed that the idea was sensible but needed sign off from the FCO.

https://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/no-10-knew-about-priti-patel-israel-meetings-1.447605

A Eurosceptic Tory minister has been accused of “plain and simple lying” over the possibility of Turkey joining the EU, prompting an extraordinary intervention from the Prime Minister.

Penny Mordaunt, the armed forces minister, said the UK “does not” have a veto over the new membership of states such as Turkey – despite it being a key part of the Treaty of the European Union.

On Turkey’s chances of joining the EU, she said: “This is our last chance to have a say on this, we’re not going to be consulted on whether those countries should join. Those countries are going to join, it is a matter of when.”

Andrew Marr suggested this was wrong, given “the British government does have a veto on Turkey joining, so we don’t have to let them join”. But Ms Mordaunt replied: “No, it doesn’t. We are not going to be able to have a say.” Marr was forced again to bring up the issue at the end of the interview to clarify Ms Morduant’s point. He said: “I’m going to return to this business, because I’m pretty sure that we do have a veto over stopping Turkey joining if we want to. Are you sure that we don’t? Ms Mordaunt said: “We haven’t… I think that with the current situation, the migrant crisis and other issues in Europe at the moment, we would be unable to stop Turkey joining.