The Ferret investigation into the secret meeting held in August 2024 between the Scottish Government, represented by Angus Robertson, and Daniela Grudsky, Israel’s deputy ambassador to the UK, has revealed that John Swinney’s government consider itself a ‘critical’ friend of Israel. The Ferret reports:
- The Ferret findings come after a 10-month freedom of information (FoI) battle, which involved challenges to the Scottish Information Commissioner and claims from the Scottish Government that releasing details of the meeting could damage UK-Israeli relations and even be seen as “antisemitic”.
- The Scottish Government tried to set up an earlier meeting with Swinney and the Israeli ambassador, and was talking itself up as a “critical friend” of Israel.
- Just one month after Swinney took office as First Minister, on 3 June, a Scottish Government official emailed the Israeli embassy, looking to speak to “someone urgently to make arrangements” for a meeting between Swinney and the Israeli ambassador, Tzipi Hotovely, while she was in Scotland. This meeting did not go ahead because Hotovely cancelled her visit to Scotland due to planned protests.
- Following some communication and coordination between the Scottish Government and the Israeli embassy, Angus Robertson, Scottish Government Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture, met with Israel’s deputy ambassador on 8 August. They discussed ‘areas of mutual interest, including culture, renewable energy, and engaging the country’s respective diasporas’.
- Scottish Government and Israeli embassy officials discussed whether information about the meeting should be made public. The Ferret investigation revealed emails that show the Scottish Government provided further updates on FOI requests to the Israeli embassy after the meeting, which reiterated its position that no information should be released.
