CAA commends Waterstones for cancelling book launch featuring Ken Loach and conspiracy theorist David Miller
Waterstones in Brighton has cancelled a Monday evening event on the fringes of Labour Party Conference to mark the launch of Bad News for Labour: Antisemitism, the Party and Public Belief.
The event was to feature the author of the book, Prof. David Miller of the University of Bristol. Prof Miller is a conspiracy theorist who has been the subject of complaints by students and Jewish communal bodies. In the past, Prof. Miller has belittled antisemitism in the Labour Party as “mostly false”, condemned Ken Livingstone’s treatment by the Party as a “disgrace” and dismissed concerns about the safety of Jewish students on campus.
The controversial filmmaker, Ken Loach, was also expected to feature at the book launch. Mr Loach caused outrage in 2017 when, during an interview with the BBC, he refused to denounce Holocaust denial.
The event was part of a schedule also featuring Jackie Walker and Chris Williamson MP. Ms Walker is a former vice-chair of Momentum who was repeatedly suspended by Labour and finally expelled earlier this year and who has persistently claimed that complaints of antisemitism are part of a plot to destabilise the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn and has rejected the International Definition of Antisemitism. Mr Williamson was suspended from Labour and then readmitted, only to be resuspended following a public outcry after claiming that Labour has been “too apologetic” over antisemitism.
Stephen Silverman, Director of Investigations and Enforcement at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “Antisemitism has become increasingly normalised in public life to the point where large numbers of British Jews are now seriously considering whether they have a future in this country. We commend Waterstones for playing its part in reversing this trend by cancelling this event and refusing to legitimise the views of individuals who have contributed to it.”
On 28th May, the Equality and Human Rights Commission launched a full statutory investigation following a formal referral and detailed legal representations from Campaign Against Antisemitism, which is the complainant.
In recent months, twelve MPs and three peers have resigned from the Labour Party over antisemitism, along with a large number of MEPs, councillors and members.
Over 55,000 people have now signed our petition denouncing Jeremy Corbyn as an antisemite and declaring him “unfit to hold any public office.”