UK watchdog says Reform's Tice breached parliament rules over Israel trip declaration

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, Britain's parliamentary standards watchdog said on Tuesday. The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards said Tice should have declared a visit to ‌Israel in 2025 that was paid for by Reform ‌Friends of Israel when he participated in a debate on UK democracy and Israeli influence.

The commissioner, Daniel Greenberg, concluded that Tice ⁠had breached ​rule six ⁠of parliament's code of conduct, which requires lawmakers to declare relevant ⁠interests when speaking in parliamentary proceedings. Greenberg said the Israel trip had ​met the test for declaration because it could "reasonably be ⁠thought by others to influence" a member's actions or words.

Tice accepted ⁠the ​finding, acknowledged the breach and apologised, the commissioner said, adding that the inquiry was now over. Greenberg said ⁠he was satisfied the failure was inadvertent and had stemmed from ⁠Tice's ⁠misunderstanding of when a declaration was required.

Tice did not immediately respond to a request for ‌comment.