Labour MP Stella Creasy has accused Al Jazeera of seeking to smear her partner as a member of the far right in its documentary series about the party's antisemitism crisis under Jeremy Corbyn.
Last Thursday’s inaugural episode of “The Labour Files”, a three-part series widely criticised as an attempt to discredit activists who called out Jew-hate under Mr Corbyn, included a clip from 2016 featuring former Labour Friends of Israel director Dan Fox talking about Sadiq Khan's then-candidacy for London Mayor with pro-Israel activists.
During the heavily edited clip, one activist can be heard saying that "some of us were a little bit horrified about some of his [Khan's] alleged connections".
The activist can also be heard saying she didn't want "to be governed by sharia law”, while an unidentified attendee said he would be “very, very worried with a Muslim in charge”.
In the short clip, Mr Fox can be heard saying that he would "hopefully be putting the case, counterintuitively, for why Sadiq is actually the right choice for the Jews of London".
On Sunday, Ms Creasy posted a statement on social media, in which she said “a video is currently circulating attempting to smear my partner by seeking to link him to the far right.
“It is categorically untrue to suggest this, and indeed based on a meeting he attended specifically to rebut those spreading Islamophobia within the Jewish community.”
“This reflects his long history of anti-racist activism across all communities. Al Jazeera know this because they were told but still chose to cynically edit this video to try to mislead- presenting these allegations 30 minutes into transmission and the truth in cards 50 minutes later.
The Walthamstow MP also accused Al Jazeera of failing to contact her for a right of reply, which she said “reflects both the misogyny and antisemitism” behind their claims.
She said it was “sadly… not the first time my family have been targeted as a means to attack me,” and that such “behaviour has no place in public life.”
A statement from me. I won’t be commenting further. pic.twitter.com/sD8hFyIc2v
— stellacreasy (@stellacreasy) September 25, 2022
Mr Fox himself also took to Twitter to provide further context, stating: “In 2016, I attended an event hosted by a woman I’d known since my youth, on account of being friends with a family member.
"The occasion in question was the first time we’d met in real life in 20 years. But we had been arguing on Facebook for some weeks over my support for Sadiq Khan in that year’s London Mayoral election; and especially over what I considered to be Islamophobic criticism of him.
“I was challenged to express this support in person at a get-together at her house of an Israel advocacy group. I accepted the challenge.
“I was only there - COULD only have been there - due to my being in opposition to all others present.
“I did nothing other than express support for and defence of Sadiq Khan including against Islamophobic accusations such as being connected to terror or planning to introduce Sharia law across the capital,” he went on.
Mr Fox wrote that he had "not met anyone else" present at the gathering before and that he had not met the host since.
He stressed his “anti-fascist and anti-racist record,” including his history of demonstrating against the National Front, the EDL, and Belgian far-right group Vlaams Blok, and his investigation of “campus far-right extremism,” while a student.
Mr Fox also said he has targeted extremist organisations while working as a financial crime investigator, and that he had mentored young people and ethnic minority colleagues.
In 2017 several UK Zionist activists and an ex-employee of the Israeli embassy complained to Ofcom over Al Jazeera’s documentary “The Lobby" which focused on alleged Israeli influences in UK politics. They said the film was antisemitic and contained issues relating to editing, bias, and privacy infringements. However, the media watchdog rejected the complaints.
Al Jazeera was contacted for comment.
