Speaker of the House of Commons, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, has blocked the release of emails he sent to Israeli politicians. 

In response to a Freedom of Information (FoI) request submitted by Declassified UK, the UK Government confirmed that Hoyle personally decided to withhold correspondence—dating back to October 2023—between himself and the Israeli Embassy, Labour Friends of Israel, as well as members or officials of the Knesset, Israel’s parliament.

The decision was justified on the grounds that "the Speaker of the House of Commons... has formed the reasonable opinion that disclosure of the information would be likely to prejudice the effective conduct of public affairs."

Hoyle previously travelled to Israel in November 2023 on what was described as a “solidarity visit.” During the trip, Israel’s ambassador to the UK, Tzipi Hotovely, shared a video clip of his visit online. In it, Hoyle stated: "Unless you witness and come here to see what's happened, you cannot imagine the atrocity took place."

Earlier in 2024, Hoyle faced significant criticism for an unprecedented procedural move during a House of Commons vote led by the SNP on a ceasefire in Gaza. He allowed amendments from both the UK Government and the Labour Party to be selected—breaking long-standing parliamentary convention on Opposition Day debates. The clerk of the House confirmed it was the first such departure in at least 25 years, a move seen by many as shielding Labour from a major internal rebellion.