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Richard Burgon says he 'did not lie' when he falsely denied saying 'Zionism is the enemy of peace'

Labour's shadow justice secretary claimed he had not used the words but was later revealed to have said just that

May 10, 2019 09:21
Richard Burgon on BBC Newsnight
1 min read

Labour's Richard Burgon has claimed he "did not lie" when he falsely insisted he had never said "Zionism is the enemy of peace".

The shadow justice secretary's untruth was exposed earlier this year when investigative reporter Iggy Ostanin unearthed a video of Mr Burgon giving a passionate speech during the 2014 Gaza War in which he said, as alleged: "The enemy of the Palestinian people are Zionists and Zionism is the enemy of peace and the enemy of the Palestinian people.”

But last year he insisted repeatedly that he “didn’t say that” and “that’s not my view" when asked about it on the BBC.

He was confronted by Emma Barnett on Thursday's BBC Newsnight who asked: "You said, not only 'I didn't say that', you said 'I don't believe that'. Why on earth should we believe anything you have to say when you outright lied?"