The New Arab / July 31, 2026
Stephen Doughty’s appointment as Britain’s Middle East minister has drawn scrutiny over his parliamentary record and positions supporting Israel.
The position of Minister for the Middle East and North Africa in the British government has rarely attracted the attention it is receiving today.
With the appointment of Stephen Doughty to the role in Andy Burnham’s government, and as Israel’s genocidal war on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip continues, attention has turned to his positions and how he will manage the Middle East portfolio, which has seen continued instability since 2023.
Doughty (46) is Welsh and has represented a Cardiff constituency in the House of Commons for the Welsh Labour and Co-operative Party since 2012. He is regarded as a prominent and active member of the “Jewish Labour Movement”, which holds considerable influence within the governing Labour Party.
According to the Register of Ministers’ Interests, which requires ministers, who are necessarily members of the House of Commons, to declare their interests to ensure there is no conflict with their public duties, Doughty is also the British Labour Party representative to the Party of European Socialists, which brings together European socialist, social democratic and labour parties with the aim of promoting social justice.
Additionally, he is a member of the Labour Irish Society, the “Labour Campaign for International Development”, the “Friends of the Armed Forces”, and the Labour Party’s “Bisexual and Transgender Group”.
How is the Middle East minister selected ?
The minister is one of the junior ministers supporting the Foreign Secretary, currently Ed Miliband. The appointment is made by the prime minister, in consultation with the Foreign Secretary, from among MPs representing the governing party. The official title of the post is Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State.
Doughty previously served as Minister of State for Europe, North America and Overseas Territories at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office between 2024 and 2026.
Before entering parliament and government, he studied at Pearson College in Canada and at the universities of Oxford and St Andrews in England.
After graduating, he spent several years working for non-governmental organisations focused on humanitarian aid and international development, including “World Vision” UK and “Oxfam” at international, British and Welsh levels.
During the previous Labour government, he also served as a special adviser to the Minister of State for International Development.
Alongside his political career, Doughty served as a reservist in the British Army, giving him military experience that was further strengthened after completing the “Parliamentary Armed Forces Programme”, designed to give members of the House of Commons and House of Lords first-hand experience of military life.
He also completed a course at the Royal College of Defence Studies between 2017 and 2018.
What are the responsibilities of this role ?
With Middle East affairs, the minister oversees sanctions, Pakistan and Afghanistan, consular affairs, and Foreign Office crisis management.
His responsibilities also include explaining Britain’s Middle East policy to parliament and responding to MPs’ questions on that policy.
Doughty is known for supporting Israel and lip-service to the two-state solution. On some occasions, he expressed support for a ceasefire during the early stages of the Israeli war on Gaza and voiced “concern” over the scale of the humanitarian catastrophe caused by the war.
However, most of his publicly stated positions, particularly in parliament, have caused concern among supporters of the Palestine movement in Britain.
These positions include:
- In November 2023, he abstained from voting on a House of Commons motion calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, less than five weeks after the start of Israel’s genocidal war.
- In January 2024, he voted against a proposal concerning preventing local public bodies and institutions in the United Kingdom from imposing investment bans on Jewish settlements built in the occupied Palestinian territories.
- In March 2024, he declined to sign a letter calling on the British government to suspend arms sales to Israel. The letter was signed by 184 members of the House of Commons and the House of Lords from different parties. It strongly criticised Britain’s “complicity” in war crimes committed by Israel.
- On 22 May 2024, he did not sign a letter to David Lammy, then foreign secretary, calling on Britain to comply with the International Criminal Court arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then Defence Minister Yoav Gallant to face trial on charges of war crimes in Gaza.
The letter was signed by more than 100 members of both houses of parliament from different British parties. Doughty took this position despite having previously declared his support for the court and its independence.
- In July 2025, he voted in parliament in favour of the Home Office decision to designate “Palestine Action” as a terrorist organisation, leading to the prosecution of hundreds of its members and supporters on criminal charges.
- In July this year, he also declined to sign a letter calling on the new prime minister, Andy Burnham, to impose sanctions on Israel. 80 MPs and peers signed the letter.
Based on this record, Palestine supporters in Britain describe the new minister as “clearly anti-Palestinian”.
The New Arab received no response from either the Foreign Office or Doughty’s parliamentary office to requests for comment.
Supporters of Israel expect one of Doughty’s most prominent appearances in the House of Commons to come when parliament returns from its September recess and debates the possibility of imposing new, tougher UK sanctions on Israel over settlement trade, as the previous government led by Keir Starmer had indicated.
According to Jewish News, “Doughty’s interventions on Israel and Palestine have become known for their integrity”.
The outlet added that its information indicates the minister “is highly regarded by Foreign Office officials because of his previous experience and calm approach”.
When Doughty was appointed to the post, he described the decision as “an honour”.
In a post on “X“, he said only that the honour came because he had “taken responsibility for our work on the Middle East and North Africa, Afghanistan, Pakistan and sanctions”.
British Foreign Office: Doughty is not anti-Palestinian
The British Foreign Office rejected the description of Doughty as “anti-Palestinian“.
A Foreign Office spokesperson told The New Arab that the British government’s record in supporting the rights of the Palestinian people is “clear and unequivocal”.
The spokesperson added that Doughty served in the government that recognised the State of Palestine and suspended negotiations on a trade agreement with Israel.
The spokesperson also said Britain “does not export any bombs or ammunition whatsoever for use in Israeli military operations in Gaza”.
Regarding the minister’s previous positions, another British official told The New Arab that, during Doughty’s maiden speech after becoming a member of the House of Commons, he placed humanitarian support for Gaza “at the top of his priorities”.
The official pointed to Doughty’s “efforts to obtain assurances from the then foreign secretary, William Hague, regarding the continued work of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and other humanitarian and relief organisations in Gaza”.
The official added that, before entering parliament, “Doughty spent several years working with non-governmental organisations involved in humanitarian work and international development”.
