Speaker doubles down over refusal to disclose Israel emails

The House of Commons speaker, Lindsay Hoyle, has doubled down on his attempt to block the release of emails he sent to Israeli politicians.

Hoyle flew to Israel on a “solidarity visit” in November 2023 and was photographed with the country’s ambassador to the UK, Tzipi Hotovely.

But on Monday, Declassified revealed how he personally prevented his emails from being disclosed under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act.

According to the FOI response, Hoyle “formed the reasonable opinion that disclosure of the information would be likely to prejudice the effective conduct of public affairs”.

It added that this is an “absolute exemption” and “the public interest test does not apply”.

Hoyle cited an obscure loophole to the FOI Act, which experts describe as a “Get Out of Jail Free card for public authorities that want to withhold information”.

It means that – in his role as speaker – he is considered the only “qualified person” in the Commons to decide whether disclosure could undermine “the effective conduct of public affairs”.

This applies even when his own emails are the subject of the FOI request – giving him free rein to keep his work secret.

‘The exemption is maintained’

Declassified appealed against the decision, but Hoyle said yesterday that he would not alter his position.

A letter from the House of Commons states: “We have asked Mr Speaker to reconsider his reasonable opinion, and he has now confirmed that the exemption is maintained.”

The FOI request covered any emails sent between Hoyle and the Israeli embassy, as well as any correspondence with the Knesset and Labour Friends of Israel.

Hoyle has boasted that his father “helped found Labour Friends of Israel” in the 1950s.

In February last year, Hoyle was also the centre of controversy, when he broke parliamentary convention to block an SNP motion calling for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza. The motion also called for an end to the “collective punishment of the Palestinian people”.

It sparked calls for him to resign, amid reports that Labour had “blackmailed” him by threatening to vote him out of office.

‘Deplorable’

Responding to our original story, Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie told The National newspaper that in the circumstances of the genocide in Gaza: “For Lindsay Hoyle to undertake a so-called ‘solidarity visit’ is deplorable, and the fact he now wants to keep his correspondence private suggests that he knows this should never have happened in the first place.”

Declassified asked the House of Commons why Hoyle had personally intervened to block the disclosure.

A spokesperson said: “It is completely incorrect to say that the speaker ‘personally intervenes’ in FOI cases. The speaker’s approval is required for the application of any exemption under Section 36. Such an exemption is agreed to following advice from senior officials, including legal advice.”

They added: “It is a well-established principle that, to enable a free and frank exchange of views, that correspondence is confidential.”

Declassified is referring the FOI case to the Information Commissioner’s Office, which regulates FOI requests.