The Rally and Speeches

On December 12th, I spoke at an event organised by the Left Labour Alliance (LLA) and Labour against the Witch-hunt (LAW).  The organisers invited two non-Labour speakers, including Craig Murray (SNP) and myself (Lib Dem), in recognition of the fact that the McCarthyistic antisemitism witch-hunt is not just a problem for Labour but for our entire country.

I said some tough things about both Labour and Lib Dems and recommended an inclusive cross-party campaign to counter the appalling dishonesty that has taken hold of the UK and particularly in our mainstream media. I was a bit apprehensive at first, but the 22 people who made positive comments in the chat bar told me I had struck a chord.  You can read my 10-minute speech HERE, or watch it HERE starting at 34 minutes into the clip.  There were fifteen other interesting speakers between morning and afternoon sessions.  Craig Murray started at 1:19 minutes 20 secs, and ended with an interesting quip: “I have never been in the Labour Party but have many friends who have been thrown out of it”. 

Murky shenanigans follow

Hard-line supporters of Israel seem also to have noticed my speech, and on December 22nd I learned from an article in the Jewish Chronicle (JC) that I was under investigation from the Lib Dem Party.  The JC incorrectly described me as ‘a spokesperson’ for Bromley Liberal Democrats. 

Significantly, I had not heard about this from the Party’s ‘Standards Office’ and had to write to ask what was happening; this was not the first time the JC has had information on complaints before the person complained about.  The complainant must have deliberately tipped off the JC – in contravention of the confidentiality requirements set out in the Party’s disciplinary procedures.  Since then another pro-Israeli organisation, the so-called 'Campaign against Antisemitism' (CAA), has picked up the story and posted a similar piece which turned up on social media in my borough.

I have now examined the complaint and find it has no substance, so have asked the Standards Office to dismiss it out of hand.   However, I consider the person who leaked to have already caused me reputational damage. Every time an organisation like the JC or the CAA posts a piece saying that the party is investigating me, they imply I have done something wrong (i.e. antisemitic). 

It is likely the JC, the CAA and other pro-Israeli players will follow a well-worn path and seek to whip up a media frenzy to bully the Lib Dems into taking a ‘zero-tolerance approach’ towards me.  If this happens, I hope the Party will stand its ground and not act precipitously as it did after the House of Lords meeting of October 25th 2016 which was chaired by the (then) Lib Dem peer Baroness. Jenny Tonge.