British Prime Minister Boris Johnson apologized to Israeli Energy Minister Karine Elharrar Tuesday after she was unable to attend the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland yesterday due to the lack of wheelchair accessibility in the shuttle which brought attendees to the event.
Johnson met with Elharrar and Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on the sidelines of the conference Tuesday afternoon.
"I understand there was confusion with the conduct yesterday. I'm very sorry about that," Johnson told Elharrar.
Johnson added to Bennett: "We need to learn from the booster (vaccination) campaign in Israel. The booster operation is running now, but we need it to go with Israeli speed. We want some of that spirit in the UK."
Earlier Tuesday , Bennett arrived at the conference together with Minister Elharrar, ensuring that she would be able to attend today.
Prime Minister Bennett called on organizers to ensure that Elharrar-Hartstein, who suffers from muscular dystrophy, has access to the event, warning Monday that if she was unable to attend again, he would not join the conference Tuesday.
British Ambassador to Israel Neil Wigan also publicly apologized to Elharrar. “I apologize deeply and sincerely to the minister. We want a COP Summit that is welcoming and inclusive to everyone,” Wigan wrote on Twitter.