John Woodcock, who prefers ‘Lord Walney‘ according to his X profile, has been referred to the House of Lords Commissioner for Standards for racist and Islamophobic targeting of our human rights group CAGE’s Senior Director, Moazzam Begg, according to a statement by the group.
John Woodcock: in the proverbial?
The statement goes on to say that:
Out of 800 arrests in recent months where thousands sat with placards opposing the genocide in Gaza, including clergy, military veterans, and advisers. Walney singled out Moazzam Begg, demanding his passport to be revoked.
This was not an oversight. It was discrimination and islamophobia.
CAGE International demands a full investigation and a public apology.
John Woodcock, who has been funded by the Israel lobby and was one of the early agitators for the proscription of non-violent anti-genocide group Palestine Action as terrorists, also tried last year to get independent parliamentary candidates banned after several independents won seats on anti-genocide platforms. He has accepted paid junkets to Israel on a number of occasions.
Before being made a peer by Tory Boris Johnson, Woodcock quit the Labour party in 2018 rather than face investigation as an alleged sex pest. He was also accused by local Labour party members of bullying staff.
Mired in scandal
The CAGE complaint states that it is reasonable to conclude that John Woodcock singled Begg out for sanction because of his ethnic and religious background, exhibiting racism and Islamophobia. Citing the House of Lords Code of Ethics, the complaint calls for an investigation into Woodcock’s statements and asks for a public apology from him. A previous letter sent by CAGE International directly to Lord Walney demanding an apology went unanswered. In its statement, CAGE described Woodcock as:
mired in scandal. He is a former chair of Labour Friends of Israel and a lobbyist for the oil and arms industry, with well-known right-wing and authoritarian views.
CAGE’s Head of Public Advocacy, Anas Mustapha, said:
It is about time that someone challenges Lord Walney’s abuse of his public position. Lord Walney recently fumbled his way through an interview regarding concerns about the conflict of interest he faces as a supposed ‘independent adviser’ on protests. His lobbying for authoritarian powers to defend a live streamed genocide exposes his vacuous ethics and his danger to the rule of law in Britain.
Featured image via CAGE
