My encounter with Baroness Tonge

Almost immediately the issue of her sacking arose. The host shared his sorrow at her removal, and said how badly 'everyone' thought she had been treated by her party leader, who was clearly too weak to stand up to the Israeli lobby. A very senior Labour politician (whom I had previously respected as a decent man) concurred. So did the producer.

I had a split second to think how to respond. Should I stick to my plan of being polite, and remain silent lest I cause a scene? Or should I make clear that not 'everyone' agreed with the consensus around the table?

I couldn't in all conscience do anything else. So I said, quietly but, I hope, firmly, that not everyone agreed, and that some of us - such as myself and many people I know, many of whom were not Jewish - thought that her remarks were contemptible, and that she had been let off lightly. Far from Charles Kennedy overreacting, a more appropriate response might have been to have the whip withdrawn. And she remained in the legislature, able to determine the laws under which I lived, which I found to be unsettling at best.

There was a very awkward silence, since it was not the done thing to behave like that over dinner. But the topic of comnversation was changed, I did the programme, and have done it since.