Senior Tory launches scathing attack on bill banning boycotts of Israel

Alicia Kearns, the chair of the foreign affairs select committee, says the bill ‘undermines freedom of speech, goes against international law’ and isolates UK on global stage. Photograph: NurPhoto/Getty Images

A senior Conservative MP launched a scathing attack on a controversial bill banning local councils from boycotting Israel, as eight Tories voted against the proposed legislation.

Alicia Kearns, the Conservative chair of the foreign affairs select committee, told the Guardian that the bill undermined free speech, went against international law and risked leaving the UK isolated on the global stage.