“His smears against a humanitarian organisation and conspiracy driven analysis of the use of chemical weapons are a clear attempt to muddy the water and provide cover for the worst crimes of Bashar al-Assad’s army and his Russian state backers.”
When Lewisham Council cancelled the event, which was to be held on its premises, the talk, titled “Propaganda in the Modern World”, was rescheduled to be held at the headquarters of the Lewisham West and Penge Constituency Labour Party (CLP) on Wednesday evening.
In their letter, the Labour politicians described how when some members had written to the CLP secretary and chair to register their concerns, these had been “either ignored or rejected.”
Last December, HuffPost approached Prof Robinson for comment on his support for 9/11 conspiracy theorists ahead of an in-depth article.
He recommended some other people whose work would help readers “get up to speed with geo-politics and the current dynamics of the international system”.
One of those recommended was Kees van der Pijl, a former emeritus professor at the University of Sussex. Weeks before, Prof Van der Pijl wrote a tweet saying: “Israelis blew up the twin towers with help from Zionists in the US government.”
Writing on Twitter, Prof Robinson said that he had “never endorsed or made" the claim that Israelis or Zionists were responsible for 9/11.
Addressing two of the open letter’s signatories, he said: “By making this false allegation and spreading such lies you undermine the fight against real antisemitism. You should be ashamed of yourself.”
When it was put to him that he had endorsed Kees van der Pijl, Prof Robinson responded that he had “recommended a book he [Prof van der pijl] wrote, nothing to [sic] with the allegation you are making.”
In their letter, the Labour politicians described how “conspiracy theories such as those peddled by Dr Piers Robinson both encourage antisemitic hatred and risk damaging the goodwill that our community has shown to refugees fleeing the conflict in Syria.”
Tom Copley, a signatory and a member of the Greater London Assembly, said: "To invite someone like Dr Robinson to address a party meeting flies in the face of everything we... are trying to do to help those refugees."
Cllr Leo Gibbons spoke of his “dismay and anger”, adding: “We do not believe his toxic views reflect the values of Labour”.
Last month, Labour's Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott took part in the launch of a publication written by Bristol University's Professor David Miller, who is, like Prof Robinson, a member of the 'Working Group on Syria, Propaganda and Media' group of academics.
The Labour Campaign for International Development wrote to Ms Abbott, saying Prof Miller was “part of a group that systematically denies high profile Assad regime crimes against civilians in Syria, particularly the Assad regime’s repeated use of chemical weapons”, and asked her to reconsider, which she did not.
