Israeli sponsors treat British MPs to free visits   http://www.islamtimes.org/vdcbg5b8grhbsap.4eur.html Islam Times - Israeli sponsors have funded unofficial trips by members of the British parliament’s all-party groups to the occupied territories, media reports reveal, in yet another twist in British politicians’ questionable links to the Israeli regime.

According to The Guardian, British Lords and MPs received at least £1.8 million from foreign governments and lobby groups in 2011 in the form of gifts, sponsorships and even in cash through cross-party groups.

The details of the donors and the purpose of the sponsorships is not clear, but the paper reported that 15 groups have travelled overseas including to the Palestinian occupied territories on sponsored trips.

This comes as revelations in December 2011, showed the Israeli Foreign Ministry has funded trips by British MPs to the occupied territories to buy their support.

Interestingly, the trips which included visits to production facilities of the weapons manufacturer Elbit, were timed to coincide with London’s decision to change its Universal Jurisdiction law to prevent potential detention and prosecution of the Zionist regime’s officials during British visits.

The new revelations by The Guardian are a rare public proof of the Zionist regime’s behind-the-scenes bribery of British MPs even outside the self-acknowledged single-party pro-Israeli pressure groups working under the name of “Friends of Israel.”

All the major British political parties run “Friends of Israel” lobby groups in the parliament yet the details on the sources of the groups’ funding remain unclear.

While the Conservative and Liberal Democrat Friends of Israel have allowed a look at the source of their annual budget, they have refused to answer whether the Israeli arms industry is one of their contributors.

As for the Labour Friends of Israel, they have refused to publish any details on their funding. This is while both two former Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Tony Blair were members of the Lobby group.

The recent disclosure has also raised fears about Israeli elements to have even received authorization to visit the parliament through the all-party groups they sponsored.

The paper found that 70 groups issued parliamentary passes to individuals "advantaged by the privileged access to parliament afforded by their pass.”