Ex-Israeli lobbyist arrested for trying to meet an underage boy
Former Labour politician and ex-head of Labour Friends of Israel was arrested in a sting operation in the UK after he allegedly attempted to meet a 15-year-old school boy for sex. Ivor Caplin was dismissed from the… pic.twitter.com/eXtxwIJsS7
— Middle East Monitor (@MiddleEastMnt) January 13, 2025
A former British MP and leader of a pro-Israel lobby group has been arrested over allegations of child sex offences, according to UK police.
A video circulating online over the weekend showed a man in a trench coat and red cap being apprehended and arrested by British police after having been confronted by ‘paedophile hunters’, who alleged he was holding online sexual communications with a minor.
The man was revealed to be Ivor Caplin, the Labour party’s former MP for Hove in southern England until 2005, who had also served as a junior defence minister under former Prime Minister Tony Blair’s government.
He was also the former chair of the Jewish Labour Movement (JLM), a group that has extensive ties to the Israeli embassy in Britain and which gives further evidence of Caplin’s links to the pro-Israel lobby within the UK and the broader West.
While he held that position, the pro-Israel group was at the forefront of smear campaigns and accusations of anti-Semitism against numerous social and political figures in the UK, including former Labour leader and prime ministerial candidate, Jeremy Corbyn, as well as others.
In a statement by Sussex Police, they announced that “We are aware of footage circulating on social media showing a man in Brighton being detained on suspicion of engaging in online sexual communications with a child. Officers can confirm that a local 66-year-old man was arrested on Saturday January 11 and currently remains in custody.”
Although the former MP denies the allegations against him, his arrest comes months after the Labour party suspended Caplin from its ranks in May last year over “serious allegations” that remain undisclosed.
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