Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice has reacted furiously to a parliamentary standards investigation into whether he failed to declare a relevant interest during a Commons debate about Israel.
And if Tice was angry, GB News presenter Martin Daubney appeared determined not to be outdone.
Tice appeared on the channel to discuss the investigation, which was opened by Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards Daniel Greenberg on 28 July.
“For standing up against the scourge of antisemitism, I am being investigated,” Tice told GB News, describing the complaint as an “establishment stitch-up.”
The resulting interview featured Tice raging down the camera while Daubney gesticulated furiously from the studio. At points it became rather difficult to work out which of the two was supposed to be interviewing the other.
There is, however, a more specific issue at the centre of the investigation than Tice’s description of it might suggest.
What Richard Tice is actually being investigated over
The investigation concerns Rule Six of the Commons code of conduct, which requires MPs to be open about relevant financial interests when taking part in parliamentary proceedings.
Tice has previously confirmed the complaint relates to a Commons debate on 22 June entitled “UK Politics: Pro-Israel Influence.” According to the Financial Times, the question for the standards commissioner is whether Tice should have declared a trip to Israel funded by Reform Friends of Israel before speaking in that debate.
The trip itself was registered by Tice, so this isn’t about an entirely undisclosed visit. His parliamentary register records a four-day trip to Israel in September 2025, valued at £6,250, covering flights, accommodation, transport and hospitality, with a stated purpose of education and meetings with Israel’s president and foreign minister.
The issue is whether that already-registered interest should also have been declared when he took part in a debate specifically about Israel and its influence on British politics. That’s a considerably narrower question than being investigated “for standing up against the scourge of antisemitism.” It’s also worth stating plainly: opening an investigation doesn’t mean Tice has been found to have broken any rules. The commissioner will determine that.
What Tice actually said during the debate
The official Hansard record shows Tice strongly attacking the premise of the debate itself. “This motion is antisemitic in its very motivation and at its core,” he told MPs, going on to praise Israeli scientists, entrepreneurs and medical researchers, call for greater UK-Israel collaboration, and argue for more Israeli businesses to list on the London Stock Exchange. He concluded by saying Israel had “so much to offer.”
What Hansard doesn’t record during his contribution is any declaration referring to the previously registered trip. Whether the rules required one is now a matter for the commissioner. Tice disputes the complaint and says his interests were already available for anyone to check on the parliamentary register.
Then came the GB News interview
None of those distinctions appeared to do much for Tice’s blood pressure. He insisted he was being targeted for opposing antisemitism and accused critics of pursuing him through the parliamentary system. Daubney, meanwhile, grew increasingly animated himself, one particularly memorable shot featured both men pointing furiously towards their respective cameras at the same time, producing an unintentionally comic split-screen that didn’t go unnoticed.
@deanbegley1 found the whole thing improved with the sound off: “I’m watching this with the sound off because I’m in work & it’s even more hilarious.”
@LizWebsterSBF spotted a resemblance to a rather different show: “This is SUCH a hilarious watch. It’s Ade Edmondson – Vyvyan – from the Young Ones.”
@dowling_andy followed up with an actual screenshot from The Young Ones captioned: “Angry, I’m bloody livid!”
@mattlumsdenBCFC called Tice’s reaction “so performative,” accusing Reform figures of reaching for anger whenever they’re criticised. @Ord_LeftRham focused on the entitlement of the response: “The entitled attitude of Tice & Farage! The ‘how dare you question me!'”
Whatever the standards investigation eventually concludes, the commissioner will be looking at something far more mundane than the political persecution Tice described on air: whether Commons rules required him to mention a registered interest before contributing to a relevant debate.
A difficult period for Reform gets a little more crowded
This investigation sits separately from everything else currently swirling around Reform, but it lands at an awkward time regardless. Nigel Farage was already facing his own parliamentary standards investigation over the undeclared £5m gift from Christopher Harborne, paused when Farage resigned as Clacton’s MP to trigger the byelection he’s now contesting.
The Metropolitan Police is also investigating donations made to Reform before the 2024 election, including £500,000 that reached the party through Britain Means Business, Tice’s own company. Those are entirely separate matters and don’t establish any wrongdoing by Tice in the current Israel declaration case.
There’s also been scrutiny of Tice’s dealings with George Cottrell specifically, whose $2m transfers to his mother before her Reform donations remain central to the wider police investigation. The standards commissioner recently decided against opening a separate investigation into an undeclared £78,100 business loan from Cottrell to Tice, concluding there wasn’t sufficient evidence.
Tice now faces an investigation on this entirely separate Israel declaration question. He is plainly furious about it. Judging by the footage, Martin Daubney may need someone to check his blood pressure too.
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