Sir Keir joined some eyebrow-raising company yesterday as a video call with the UK Palestinian Mission saw him come face-to-face with Ambassador Husam Zomlot to discuss the bilateral relationship. Starmer, his Deputy Political Director and Lisa Nandy all joined Zomlot who lobbied the Labour leadership for the UK to recognise the state of Palestine and boycott Israeli exports. Guido was surprised to see Starmer with Zomlot given he’s been so keen to distance himself from Corbyn-era antisemitism rows…

In 2014, Zomlot appeared to claim that Israel “fabricated” the Holocaust, telling the BBC:

“[Israel] are fabricating all these stories about beheading journalists in Iraq… as if they are fabricating also the story of the Holocaust, that it happened in Europe.”

The comments came to light in the Mail on Sunday when it emerged Corbyn spoke at Zomlot’s wedding. The same article revealed a photo of Zomlot protesting with Swastika-adorned signs…

The same remarks also saw the then-Palestinian ambassador claim Israel was founded on the “skulls of our nation” and accused the country of an “ethnic cleansing campaign”. Zomlot then claimed he misspoke during the 2014 BBC interview, saying “I absolutely do not deny the Holocaust, which was a heinous crime”. He now insists he meant to argue Israel was using the Holocaust to justify “its murder of Palestine”. So that’s alright then…

UPDATE: Labour source tells Guido: “Keir and Lisa met the same ambassador that James Cleverly spoke to last year. He also met the Israeli ambassador last month.”