Priti Patel returns as shadow foreign secretary under new Tory leader
Kemi Badenoch promotes the Witham MP to role as she announces her first shadow cabinet
Lee Harpin is the Jewish News's political editor
New Tory Party leader Kemi Badenoch has made Dame Priti Patel her shadow foreign secretary.
The Witham MP since 2010, had been forced to resign as international development secretary in 2017 following unauthorised meetings with Israeli officials.
But in a move clearly designed to show Badenoch’s admiration for Patel, who was also given the role of home secretary under Boris Johnson, the new Conservative leader has put her in a role in which Israel will repeatedly be at the top of her list of issues.
A prominent Brexit supporter and on the right of the party, Patel pushed the Rwanda policy while home secretary. She has also been staunch ally of the Conservative Friends of Israel group.
In November 2017, Patel was forced to quit as a minister quit after being summoned back from a trip to Uganda and Ethiopia by Downing Street after it emerged she failed to be candid with Theresa May, then PM, about 14 unofficial meetings with Israeli ministers and business people.
Patel had said in a letter that the UK and Israel were close allies and should work closely together.
Robert Jenrick, Badenoch’s rival in the leadershio contest, was made Justice Secretary while Chris Philp was appointed as home secretary.
In further appointments Laura Trott MP was made shadow education secretary, while Mel Stride was made shadow chancellor.
Nigel Huddleston and Lord Dominic Johnson have also been appointed as joint chairmen of the Conservative party.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
