LAW at the ‘Biased Broadcasting Corporation’ lunchtime lobby, August 7

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Over 100 people attended a spirited lunchtime demonstration outside BBC Brodcasting House on August 7, which was called to protest against the ‘Biased Broadcasting Cooperation’ and particularly the way in which it has reported about the ‘anti-Semitism scandal’ in the Labour Party.

Glyn Secker, secretary of Jewish Voice for Labour, tried to hand in a letter to the BBC.An agreement had been made the day before for a delegation of four people to deliver this letter of protest and that someone from the BBC would meet the delegation in order to receive the letter. When it came to it however, a security guard took the letter outside the building, promising to hand it to another security guard who would then deliver it to the addressee.

The rally, which occasionally broke into chants of “BBC, shame on you!”, heard speeches by Glyn Secker, Mike Cushman (Free Speech on Israel), Tony Greenstein (Labour Against the Witchhunt), Sam Gisagara and Stan Keable, secretary of LAW and Labour Party Marxists. He said:

“Every appeasement, every apology by Corbyn is immediately followed by fresh right wing attacks. The witch-hunt is not about to end. It is not about anti-Semitism, it is about removing Corbyn, because he is an unreliable ally of the United States and Israel. The hypocrisy of Labour’s rightwing is breathtaking. Disciplinary action against Margaret Hodge has been dropped. So we want to see the charges against Jackie Walker dropped, we want Marc Wadsworth, Tony Greenstein and Cyril Chilson reinstated. We want Ken Livingstone invited to re-join the party.

“The purpose of the witch-hunt is to silence us. We don’t want Margaret Hodge silenced by disciplining her for saying “fucking” or for calling Jeremy Corbyn an anti-Semitic racist. We want her called to account by the Labour Party members in her Constituency Labour Party.”

Tony Greenstein, vice-chair of Labour Against the Witchhunt, said: “The BBC was born in the womb of the British state.  It’s attitude to the Palestinians is no different to its attitude to the Irish or workers strikes in this country.  It is a faithful spokesperson for the British Establishment and, as John Pilger said, it is the most effective propaganda organisation in the world.”

Report by Stan Keable