Priti Patel – 2017 Personal Statement Apologising for Conduct

The statement made by Priti Patel, the then Secretary of State for International Development, on 6 November 2017.

This summer I travelled to Israel, on a family holiday paid for myself.

While away I had the opportunity to meet a number of people and organisations. I am publishing a list of who I met.‎ The Foreign and Commonwealth Office was aware of my visit while it was underway‎.

In hindsight, I can see how my enthusiasm to engage in this way could be mis-read, and how meetings were set up and reported in a way which did not accord with the usual procedures. I am sorry for this and I apologise for it.

My first and only aim as the Secretary of State for International Development is to put the interests of British taxpayers and the world’s poor at the front of our development work.