Parliament watchdog says Reform’s Tice breached code of conduct over Israel trip
Daniel Greenberg said Tice should have declared a visit to Israel was paid for by Reform Friends of Israel during a debate on influences to UK democracy
Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice breached Parliament’s code of conduct by inadvertently failing to declare a trip to Israel during a debate on pro-Israel influence.
Tice visited Israel from 26 to 30 September 2025, funded by the Reform Friends of Israel group.
He later spoke in a parliamentary debate on 22 June 2026 about “pro-Israel influence on UK politics and democracy,” without declaring the trip.
In August, news surfaced that Tice was under investigation by the parliamentary standards watchdog for allegedly failing to declare an interest.
In a report published on Tuesday, Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards Daniel Greenberg concluded, “the evidence submitted did demonstrate on the balance of probabilities that a breach of the rules had occurred.”
Greenberg clarified: “It is the source of funding that makes this trip a declarable interest under Chapter 2, not simply the fact that you visited Israel.”
He added, “I consider this breach to be inadvertent, arising from your misapplication of the test of relevance.”
Greenberg found that Tice breached rule six of Parliament’s code of conduct, which requires politicians to declare relevant interests when speaking in parliamentary proceedings.
He noted that the Israel trip “could reasonably be thought by others to influence” Tice’s actions or words. The trip is listed in Tice’s Declaration of Interests.
Parliamentary guidance states that MPs may refer to their register of interests entry, but this alone is not sufficient. Declarations must be clear enough to convey the nature of the interest without requiring the reader to consult the register.
As part of the process, Tice has acknowledged and apologised for the breach, including a formal apology to the House on a Point of Order, Greenberg confirmed.