In April, the SKWAWKBOX published details of an incident in Parliament in which Ilford North MP Wes Streeting ‘shouted in the face’ of Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott, the recipient of almost half of all abuse directed at any female MP. Witnesses described Mr Streeting’s behaviour as so intimidating that he had to be steered away from the veteran Abbott.
Streeting responded on social media to the publication of the article by dismissing it as ‘lies… from [a] fake news site with no sources‘ and announcing that he had set his ‘libel lawyer’ onto the SKWAWKBOX, as well as responding in similar fashion to some who asked him about his behaviour:
Streeting’s lawyers did indeed write to this blog. Ten days or so later, the SKWAWKBOX’s legal team wrote back to inform them that the complaint was rejected in full, by which time the SKWAWKBOX had published its own short, public response, stating that the article would remain online and we would be happy to see him in court if he wanted to challenge its accuracy there.
The response – and the witnesses
In the public interest, particularly in the context of recent alleged events in Parliament, the SKWAWKBOX is publishing part of its formal response to Mr Streeting’s lawyers.
That extract shows the comments from eyewitnesses to the event that were gathered by this blog’s legal team:
The letter concludes:
Please confirm that your client withdraws his allegations concerning our client’s publication of 20 April 2018 which our client notes your client has described in a tweet he published on 20 April 2018, via his personal Twitter account, as “lies” and “fake news”. In light of the matters set out above, your client’s statement to this effect is entirely without foundation or justification. Our client will bring your client’s tweet to the attention of the court should matters proceed.
If your client instructs you to issue proceedings against Mr Walker we confirm that we have instructions to accept service of proceedings on his behalf.
Any proceedings will be vigorously defended and our client will seek his costs. Please confirm whether your client has obtained ATE insurance to cover our client’s legal costs, as your letter did not reference your client’s ability to pay our client’s legal bills should he lose and our client is awarded the costs of defending the action.
No response to that letter was received from Mr Streeting or his lawyers for over three months.
The SKWAWKBOX contacted Mr Streeting to advise him that these extracts would be published and to provide an opportunity to comment. Just before the intended publication of this article yesterday, the SKWAWKBOX was contacted by Wes Streeting’s lawyer.
Through his lawyer, Mr Streeting denied the SKWAWKBOX’s account of the incident as detailed in the article of 20 April 2018. His lawyer has also repeated the MP’s threat to sue.
At the time of publishing, this blog’s solicitors have not received service of any legal proceedings by Mr Streeting, including any application by him for an injunction preventing publication of this article.
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Steve this has truly brightened an otherwise horrible day; thank you for being the one to challenge a pompous hateful individual
All strength to your elbow. Please continue to report outrageous bullying and resist being bullied yourselves.
It really has, ‘gone to his head’.. a bit, hasn’t it?
About as scary as being threatened with legal action by Sooty or Sweep – none of them have a leg to stand on 🙂
He really is a nasty piece of work Well done for your hard work in exposing this type of poison
Horrid behaviour from a MP, there’s no place for it our party. Streeting most certainly should apologise for his cowardly actions.
Hah, Wes thinks he’s a big time player. Hilarious that he is touted as one who will go far in politics, along with Jess Philips.
Go far? What in reverse gear?
Will Ms Abbott need a bodyguard in the future when walking the corridors of Parliament?
Wes Streeting’s office manager pleaded guilty over electoral fraud:
http://www.guardian-series.co.uk/news/16391125.electoral-agent-pleads-guilty-to-breaking-electoral-law/
why was he not suspended
These “centrist’s” continue to be shocked into silence when push comes to shove Steve, and must surely hate the fact that their unfounded warning letters no longer make you cower down to their bullying threats.
Streatings behaviour towards Miss Abbot was abhorrent and frightening , both to her and to other’s who witnessed it; I doubt he has a leg to stand on legally and he and his lawyers know this.
Why the hell isn’t that bullying little shit not subject to party discipline and investigations I do not know!
Seams that the left and it’s reps/member’s are fair game for a verbal offensive punch bag from these Right Wingers Abbott ,Corbyn, Lavery , just who is next ?
Only 4 months old is it not too late to formally complain
Compared to the age of what is being thrown at JC this complaint is but in its infancy
My worry is we are not saying enough is enough and standing our ground, one thing for sure not one of them will let any of this get to court
FROM CABLE STREET TO DOWNING STREET
Safest country in Europe for the Jewish community
Off ya pop, little wesley screeching; and don’t come back until yer balls have dropped.
ROFLMAO Brilliant ! just priceless !
‘As the mighty sword of Damacles.
Stikes down from off the fence.
Another squirming, simple being.
Is skewered by EVIDENCE.’
Just as a point of clarification is it now Labour acceptable practice for Labour MPs to rant (and some to swear) in the faces of Labour MPs holding more senior positions?
Like Boris Johnson – are these people really fit to be MPs?
Perhaps as the song goes: “Children behave…”
Good for you for calling Wes’s bluff. Too many loud mouthed politicians aka Hodge, Streeting and Austin love to bully and intimidate and Need to be put in their place. You should insist through your lawyers that you ate seeking an apology for blatantly lying to the public. Personally I think all three should face disciplinary action as that sort of behaviour brings the party into disrepute, let alone verbally abuses other MPS.
Wes Streeting, calling yourself a Labour MP is tantamount “in my eyes”, to being a liar, when you applied to become one!
Attacking a fellow MP of the opposite gender is cowardly and downright disgraceful!
You should be brought before the Parliamentary Committee for your uncontrollable bullying nature!
You need a lesson in “DECORAM”, along with a long suspension for your bully boy outburst towards your senior female MP.
No one is an Island, one day, you will need someone’s help and it won’t be forthcoming!
Johnson, is now being investigated, by his own party, let’s hope there’s justice in this country and he gets what he deserves!
Along with you Streeting!
Well done for sticking to your guns, Steve!
Maybe I’m being naive here, but why has a Labour MP – one who is both white, and male, and is not even at the same level in the party as Diane Abbott – been able to get away with what he did? It was appalling. It was racist. It was mysoginistic.
It was everything bad that seems to be happening all the time right now to the Labour Party and it’s members – by our own MP’s, as well as the tories!
Why hasn’t he got into trouble over it yet?
When are the leaders of our party going to insist that this awful type of behaviour is NOT acceptable – and actually do something about it?
When are the MP’s who are telling scurrilous lies about our leader – plus everyone else on the left of centre who support Jeremy Corbyn – going to be stopped?
When will the Labour MPs, who are going against the will of the majority, going to be taken off the Rolls of our Party?
When will they be made to either apologise, or pay out damages, for all the lies and deceit they daily fling about?
I really feel that, as long as they keep getting away with all of the above, there will be no chance of Jeremy Corbyn being able to step into 10, Downing Street as our next Prime Minister – and that’s something I dread to contemplate, as his ideas are what drew me to become a Labour Party member in the first place! :/
The coward knows he’s on a sticky wicket if he proceeds, it’s all smoke with no fire.
Keep up the good work Steve.
Streeting – a Socialist ? A joke ! What the hell is he doing in the Labour Party ? His party ?! I don’t think so !!!
I dislike jess phillips intensely, but even she’s more of a man than screeching. She told diane abbot to ‘f**k off’ but at least had the sense not to deem it necessary or wise to make derisory empty legal threats.
I only wish that I could find Phillips as alluring as she does herself.
Strange how ‘a kinder politics’ never applies to right-wingers. Never forget Jess Phillips was quite content to ‘stab Corbyn in the front’!!!
He’s a bully intent on destroying Corbyn it seems.
freespeechonisrael.org.uk/open-letter-wes-streeting-mp-massive-racist-charge/
Oh wes, the amount of retweets you get show you’re shitting into the wind. Just make your own party and we can sink that just like SDP.
The party is corrupt and there is no mechanism to get the right out of control of the party
I’m a lawyer but not a defamation one. Wes Streetings allegation that Skwarkbox committed defamation carries the implication that what was published was untrue and/or the quality of Skwarkbox journalism is low because it publishes unverified stories. That’s defamatory.