Warsi secures apology for inaccurate and inflammatory article in ‘Jewish News’

Jewish News was forced to issue an apology after suggesting that Baroness Sayeeda Warsi had sought to justify ISIS’s conduct, as well as objecting to “action being taken against British Muslims who murder and rape for Islamic State.”

In the front-page apology, Jewish News writes: “We wish to make absolutely clear that these allegations were wholly untrue and should never have been published. Baroness Warsi is utterly appalled by the actions of ISIS and all terror groups (indeed, she is widely reported to be on an ISIS death list herself) and has never said anything to remotely suggest otherwise. She also believes that ISIS fighters returning to the UK should face the full force of British law.”

Together with the apology, Jewish News has agreed to pay £20,000 in damages to Baroness Warsi, which she will donate to The Savayra Foundation UK, a women’s empowerment charity, Nisa Nisham, a Jewish and Muslim Women’s network, Wakefield Hospice and other charities.

The article, which is no longer available on Jewish News (but which you can still find here), was written by Colonel Richard Kemp, a retired British Army officer who served as British Commander in Afghanistan in 2003, and who now regularly provides to The Sun, the Gatestone Institute, Breitbart, and others, with articles and opinion pieces.

Colonel Kemp is renowned for his extreme views on Islam and his vigorous support of Israel. In an article for The Sun, for example, he declared that “British citizens suspected of being radicalised must be interned without trial”, a practice that is in flagrant violation with Article 9 of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and with The Human Rights Convention. Similarly, his Twitter account is filled with Islamophobic statements, as well as with arguments equating criticism of Israel to anti-Semitism.

Commenting on the outcome, Baroness Warsi said:

“The article was untrue and offensive. Predictably, it was widely shared online and on social media and caused a divisive debate, and as a consequence I was subjected to much abuse over a period of 7 months.

“I am a passionate supporter of interfaith relations, and unfounded allegations such as the ones published by Colonel Kemp and Jewish News serve only to reinforce and inflame the divisions between communities. I indicated at the outset that an early apology and retraction could have brought this matter to an end; however, the contempt with which Jewish News dealt with the matter for the first 6 months forced my hand. I am pleased that they have now apologised and accepted that Colonel’s Kemp’s article was utterly false and should never have been published.

“By contrast, as perhaps befits an individual who appears to wantonly publish inflammatory and offensive comments without a thought for the consequences (let alone the truth), Kemp himself has been too cowardly even to respond to my solicitors’ correspondence. I’m delighted that the damages which Jewish News have agreed to pay will be put to such good causes, including for women in both the Muslim and Jewish communities, so something good can emerge from this sorry episode.”