The delegates for the high-level London technology trade mission to Tel Aviv had been chosen and the preparations were in full swing when a last-minute call came in to the trip’s organisers from the office of Boris Johnson, the London mayor. The mayor’s office wanted another person to be added to the delegates list for the trade mission, which Johnson was leading. The name of the new person was familiar to London & Partners (L&P), the mayor’s promotional agency, which was making the arrangements.

The former model turned tech entrepreneur Jennifer Arcuri had already been turned away by L&P when she applied to be selected as a delegate for the November 2015 trade mission. Her business did not fit with the theme of the trip.