There is No Palestinian ‘Ambassador’ to the UK

UPDATE

Following HR’s and your complaints, the Daily Mail amended its article, which now refers to “the Palestinian Authority’s representative to the UK.”

The Independent has also changed its text, which now refers to the “head of the Palestinian mission to the UK.” The headline, however, has not as yet been changed.

Among the feeding frenzy of coverage in the UK media as government minister Priti Patel was forced to resign over undeclared meetings with Israeli politicians, so the Palestinians attempted to add their voices.

The Independent:

The Daily Telegraph:

The Times of London:

Daily Mail:

The UK has not officially recognized a Palestinian state. That is why there is a Palestinian Representative Office in London as opposed to an embassy. Its website address is “palestinianmissionuk.com.” Manuel Hassassian may proclaim himself an ambassador on the Representative Office’s website but according to diplomatic protocol, his official title is “Representative” or “Head of Mission” rather than “Ambassador.”

The Palestinians do have embassies in numerous countries that have recognized Palestinian statehood, predominantly in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East.

The UK is not one of those countries however.

These media outlets have effectively bestowed statehood on the Palestinians even though they do not enjoy that status in the UK. Aside from being prejudicial, it is simply factually incorrect.

Following complaints from HonestReporting, the Daily Telegraph amended its text to refer to “envoy.” The Times removed the entire paragraph from its story. Yet, in a follow-up story, The Times instead referred to the “Palestinian representative to the UK” having clearly amended its lexicon.

We still need your help!

At the time of writing however, The Independent and Daily Mail have failed to make the corrections. Please help us to get over the finish line by sending your requests for a correction to The Independent’s complaint form – and the Daily Mail – [email protected] – referring to the stories hyperlinked here and here respectively.