John Kelly, secretary of the Liberal Democrat Friends of Palestine (LDFP) group, told Middle East Eye he had a badge that read, “Liberal Democrat Friends of Palestine” confiscated when he tried to enter parliament on Monday 24 November.

“In my jacket pocket I had a badge saying Liberal Democrat Friends of Palestine,” he said. “The scanner picked this up and it was removed from the pocket and confiscated. I was given a receipt and told to collect it when I left parliament.”

Kelly added: "I was told this was an instruction from the Serjeant at Arms [the official responsible for security in the House of Commons] not to allow any badges that mentioned Palestine.

“I asked if the badge would have been okay if it said Liberal Democrat Friends of Israel. Yes, he said, Israel is not controversial!”