Labour and black rights activist Marc Wadsworth, who played a key role in supporting the family of murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence through their campaign, is about to formally initiate legal action against the Labour Party.
Wadsworth was expelled over an exchange with Labour MP Ruth Smeeth at the launch of Labour’s Chakrabarti report – widely misreported by the media and Ms Smeeth’s supporters as on grounds of antisemitism, but this is untrue as the party downgraded the charge to one of disrepute after it became apparent that widely-available video of the incident showed no antisemitic behaviour.
Some forty MPs marched with Ms Smeeth to the disciplinary hearing in what was attacked by Wadsworth’s supporters as a group of white people attending the ‘lynching’ of a black man.
Wadsworth has consistently denied any wrongdoing. The video evidence will allow readers to make up their own mind.
A letter from Wadsworth’s legal team will be sent to the party tomorrow, with formal proceedings expected to begin next week. The team includes QC Martin Westgate, who successfully represented Labour members in their fight to overturn Labour’s decision, under former general secretary Iain McNicol, to exclude them from voting in the party’s leadership election, as well as solicitors from the highly regarded firm Birnberg Peirce. Wadsworth is crowdfunding his legal costs.
Mr Wadsworth told the SKWAWKBOX:
I’m taking this step with the utmost reluctance and only after the party has confirmed that it will not negotiate. The video footage shows that I did not abuse Ruth Smeeth and the disrepute charge is unfounded and unjust.
Some commentators have complained that Margaret Hodge was notified of an investigation by the party too quickly after her tirade against Jeremy Corbyn – well I was expelled less than a day after the incident at the Chakrabarti launch and only reinstated when my lawyers pointed out the party had acted unlawfully, but even then I was immediately suspended.
My case is going to be a test case for the many members who have been falsely accused and unfairly treated. It’s just a pity that it’s necessary at all.
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Best of Luck Marc.
I (for one) can’t wait for the fume from you-know-who when you’re exonerated and reintstated without a blemish on your character 😉
Oh, how I wish smeeth could be made to pay the entire legal costs. I wonder if the rest of those mp’s would crowdfund that!?
IMO Labour shouldn’t contest it.
Accept we were in error and welcome him back with open arms and a party – just keep the noise down 🙂
Wait until the IHMA thing is adopted. There will be a tsunami of mendacious accusations and a heap of legal actions that will keep the Party off the political street corner. Well done McDonnell, Lansman and Jones
As Marc was sanctioned under the old discredited disciplinary procedures that have already been acknowledged by the NEC to be flawed
The evidence categorically proves there never was a case to answer so I can see no reason not to welcome him back with open arms and an apology or at the very least to have a fresh hearing under the new rules where the evidence will obviously exonerate him completely..
Surely the NEC isn’t scared of the likes of Smeeth
It is shameful that Marc’s action is necessary. His expulsion should be overturned and a full apology offered.
Interesting article here on the JLV and their input to the whole IHRA smear campaign , nails it in one for what it is , get COrbyn !
https://evolvepolitics.com/watch-jewish-labour-campaigner-absolutely-nails-the-truth-about-the-latest-labour-antisemitism-row-video/
I think taking legal action is absolutely necessary to shut up the bullies and the loud mouths willing to run to the media as soon as they feel they have something on Corbyn. This action will make a difference!
I wish Pete Wilsman would do the same ,, as Dave Hansell stated on a previous article that legal advice seemed to indicate a prima facia case to be answered by the person who made this illegal recording .
” Without going into detail as to why, I am legally advised that, in addition to the breach of Party rules this represents, several legal channels exist to pursue such a case which are not mutually exclusive:
– Police for breach of personal data rights under DPA at a meeting of a (in law) private organisation.
– Civil action – which can be triggered any time up to six years.
– Complaint to the ICO.
Don’t know about anyone else but Iam quite happy to contribute to a Crowd funder ( as I have done for Marc ) to support Pete if he were to take legal action against the culprit and for that matter those who are unable to provide evidence to support their accusations of AS , would this not be slander/liable ?
“I’m taking this step with the utmost reluctance and only after the party has confirmed that it will not negotiate.”
I’m obviously missing something here. What the hell is there to negotiate? Marc Wadsworth is 100% innocent. The original findings should be struck down without ANY negotiation whatsoever.
Which leads one to suspect that certain sections of the Labour Party are either gutless or in cahoots with the Zionist bullies.
I wish I could have contributed a larger sum to your fund. Go kick butt Marc.
Well isn’t this interesting, I thought according to Labour right wing that Corbyn had done nothing about Marc’s case. (In fact as we know Corbyn is not involved anyway. Funny that they never blames mcnicol for anything btw, but blame Jennie now, they absolutely loved him) – “Some commentators have complained that Margaret Hodge was notified of an investigation by the party too quickly after her tirade against Jeremy Corbyn – well I was expelled less than a day after the incident at the Chakrabarti launch and only reinstated when my lawyers pointed out the party had acted unlawfully, but even then I was immediately suspended. “I
I believe Marc was innocent, they applied intentions to what he said that he didn’t have. Thing is in the end wasn’t he expelled for being party into disrepute, not antisemitism.
Rosa Doherty “journalist” for the Jewish Chronicle, Luke Akehurst and Kate E McCann the telegraph journalist at the centre of all this recorded themselves agressively baiting Marc AFTER the event trying to goad him into saying something antisemitic and failed miserably uploaded video anyway with misleading title claiming Marc cornered Kate E McCann not the other way around Then after it was pointed out video actually contained the moment when he found out Ruth Smeeth was Jewish and that he couldn’t have been motivated by antisemitic feeling if he didn’t know she was Jewish at the time. Videos, youtube accounts and tweets even newspaper reports were immediately deleted. But if you know where to look evidence the video existed are still out there. Unfortunately the video itself is gone unless someone with greater skill than I could recover it?
“If you owned a beautiful historic house that until three years ago had been a happy home, and squatters moved in and trashed it, you wouldn’t walk away and build another, far smaller house, or kip in a tent in the local park. You would fight to get it back.”
How Akehurst sees Labour Party members!!!
https://labourlist.org/2018/07/luke-akehurst-thinking-of-leaving-labour-heres-why-you-should-stay-and-fight/
In my humble opinion Luke Akehurst has brought the party into disrepute on numerous occasions, why has he never been brought to book?
“If you owned a beautiful historic house that until three years ago had been a happy home, and squatters moved in and trashed it, you wouldn’t walk away and build another, far smaller house, or kip in a tent in the local park. You would fight to get it back.”
That’s EXACTLY what Corbyn’s done, akehurst, you planet. You and your fellow bliarite rats never once paid your rent, so get the f**k out of it…The park’s that way>>>>>
Is there something wrong with being a white man?
There is if you’re on your way to lynch a Black man. What part of this do you not get?
Your implication?