Following my post yesterday about Abul “Abz” Hussain and his charming banter on Facebook (“I should have put u on that convoy to Gaza, could have traded the Jew with the Israelis to let the aid through, but then again they’d probably reject u as ur too much of a jew by their standards!”), Respect’s top officials last night met to discuss his future.
They have removed him from his position on the National Council and expelled him from the party. Whether Lutfur Rahman will want the help I’m sure he’ll want to give on the doorstep in Tower Hamlets over the next month is unknown (he polled 1,261 votes in the Stepney Green and St Dunstan’s ward in his failed bid for a seat on Tower Hamlets council last May).
Here’s Respect’s statemement in full:
The Respect Party is committed to opposing prejudice and racism wherever it appears. We believe that racism divides communities, undermines human dignity, leads to hate and allows those trying to reduce resources and facilities to find easy scapegoats. Anti-Semitism has been a favoured form of prejudice in Europe over the last century and Respect is totally hostile to it.
We are extremely upset to discover that recently published comments from one of our party members are indicative of anti-Semitism. The National Officers have conducted an investigation and met on Monday evening (27 September) to consider the matter. We have decided that such views are demonstrably incompatible with party membership. The individual has been removed from all positions held within the Respect Party and he has been expelled with immediate effect.
The Respect Party believes it , and its members, have a responsibility to uphold firmly anti-racist principles. It is one of our founding tenets and all forms of racist sentiment will not be tolerated.
Clive Searle, National Secretary
Dr Kay Phillips, National Chair
Chris Chilvers, National Treasurer.
Monday 27 September 2010.
Trial by Jeory 
Well done Respect!
This is a positive step Respect has taken to enforce there is no racism, xenophobia, anti-semitism and Islamophobia in their organisation. Good on Respect for doing so.
Good decision. Respect wins back my respect.
And you win my respect for respecting respect… what a mouthfull! lol
Good to see a reasonably quick response to the allegations
Here is Salma Yaqoob’s comment:
http://www.salmayaqoob.com/2010/09/injury-to-one-is-injury-to-all.html
Respect finally earns some respect.
[…] part Jew-mocking and hating plays in Tower Hamlets politics. Ted Jeory’s reports are here and here. Will Lutfur Rahman disassociate himself from such attitudes, whether expressed by Abul Hussain or […]
Just a word. Respect did the right thing getting rid of this senior official making the anti-semitic comments on facebook. However, it is not sadly over. While the leadership of Respect party in general has good integerity, it has sadly come to my notice when I have attended certain events and meetings by Respect, to hear anti-semitic comments and even ISLAMAPHOBIA among it’s non muslim and non jewish members during their private conversations. I was shocked and offended by this, I was on the point of joining respect, but was put off by all this!! Respect really seriously needs to do some in-house cleaning before it can ever be trusted and taken seriously.
[…] Labour picks its man for Spitalfields Some have wondered how long Labour would hold out in their determination to remain in Opposition in Tower Hamlets. The excellent commenter Judoker has more than once made the point on this blog that Labour sees last month’s Mayoral election as a watershed, that a line has been drawn in the sand allowing the party to be cleansed of malevolent forces. I’ve not been so sure. The forthcoming by-election in Spitalfields and Banglatown on December 16 will be a good pointer. On Saturday, Labour selected a chap called Abdul Alim to be their candidate. No one knows too much about him, other than he’s apparently been a consistent campaigner for Labour over the years. Labour’s selection panel compromised Chris Weavers, Clair Hawkins and Graham Taylor, all of whom are from the “this party needs cleaning up” faction. Bow West councillor, and Labour’s chief whip, Anwar Khan was also on the panel. Respect, who will choose their candidate within the next 36 hours, believe Amin is a Lutfur Rahman man, but I’ve no idea. It will be interesting to see if Lutfur will publicly endorse him. If he does, that will be a clear signal of where he wants his future to lie. It would also add to the arguments of those Labour councillors who are still trying to persuade their colleagues to work with Lutfur’s administration. I understand that those discussions are ongoing and that some in the party are now increasingly worried that Marc Francis may change his mind and help his old friend out. Lutfur could also of course back an independent candidate, but I suspect he could just hedge his bets and keep his counsel private. As an aside, among those who failed to make Labour’s shortlist in Spitalifields were two former councillors, Abdus Salique and Wais Islam, both of whom are known Lutfur Rahman fans. That Wais actually remains a party member is more than surprising and underlines Labour’s double-standards during this saga. You’ll remember that not only did he publicly back Lutfir for mayor, but also that he made anti-Semitic comments about my name here. Yes, he apologised to both me and some of his colleagues for his outburst, but compare Labour’s inaction with the commendable way in which Respect dealt with another foul-mouthed tirade by one of its senior members, Abul Hussain. […]