Badenoch picks hardcore Brexiteer Priti Patel as shadow foreign secretary despite Israel gaffe

Kemi Badenoch is set to make a highly controversial choice in one of the most senior jobs in her shadow cabinet with Dame Priti Patel set to be unveiled as shadow foreign secretary.

However, sources close to the new Tory leader have told The Independent that she has “no concerns” over Dame Priti being previously sacked as a cabinet minister for unauthorised meetings in Israel.

Dame Priti was sacked in November 2017 as international development secretary by Theresa May when it emerged she had held unauthorised meetings in Israel.

Up to a dozen meetings involving Lord Stuart Polak, honorary president of Conservative Friends of Israel (CFI) took place while Patel was on a “private holiday”. One was with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. She also discussed giving aid to field hospitals run by the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) in the Golan Heights.

In a humiliating exit, Baroness May forced Dame Priti to fly back from a trip abroad and come to Downing Street to be sacked.

But since then Dame Priti has made a comeback first as Boris Johnson’s home secretary and later as one of the six leadership candidates in the recent race to replace Rishi Sunak, although she was first to be eliminated.

Her appointment to replace Andrew Mitchell in the role sends a strong message to the right of the Tories that it will be very pro-Israel in its approach to the Middle East crisis. Dame Priti has previously been highly critical of aid sent to the Palestinian territories.

While Mr Mitchell was the leading Tory cheerleader for 0.7 per cent of GDP being spent on international aid, Dame Priti has always been sceptical of foreign aid even when she ran the department.

Even more importantly for the Tory psyche, Dame Priti was a hardcore Brexiteer and one of the so-called spartans to hold out against Theresa May’s deals with the EU.

Dame Priti is one of two leadership rivals to get a job with Mel Stride, the second to be eliminated, becoming shadow chancellor, a role many people believe he was auditioning for in the contest.

Earlier, Ms Badenoch appointed long-term allies Dame Rebecca Harris as chief whip and Laura Trott as shadow education secretary, a key battleground area with the Labour government as the Tories try to make the case for reversing the VAT charge on private school fees.

The full shadow cabinet is set to be revealed tomorrow ahead of its first meeting in parliament.

Ms Badenoch is set to make her rival in the final two Robert Jenrick shadow justice secretary. He had been encouraged by his supporters to demand shadow homer secretary but appears to have compromised.

Another supporter of Ms Badenoch’s from the One Nation caucus within the party, Neil Huddlestone is to be party co-chair along with Lord Dominic Johnson.

Others expected to land jobs are long term supporters Julia Lopez, Helen Whately and Chris Philp.