UPDATE 07/09 12:00 The Craig Murray defence fund has just sailed serenely past £50,000 in electronic donations in almost precisely 24 hours, even before any of the cheques have arrived. It is a perfect illustration of the grossly disproportionate threat to freedom of speech that is the English libel system, that this is not sufficient and we have to persevere with the appeal.
2,080 people have donated an average of £24. The largest single donation is £4,000. There are also hundreds of £3 and £5 donations which do really add up. I am absolutely stunned by the outpouring of kindness I have experienced – though in fairness I should mention the significant minority who say they are motivated by despisal of the Daily Mail.
ORIGINAL POST
I am being sued for libel in the High Court in England by Jake Wallis Simons, Associate Editor of the Daily Mail Online. Mr Wallis Simons is demanding £40,000 in damages and the High Court has approved over £100,000 in costs for Mark Lewis, Mr Wallis Simons’ lawyer. I may become liable for all of this should I lose the case, and furthermore I have no money to pay for my defence. I am currently a defendant in person. This case has the potential to bankrupt me and blight the lives of my wife and children. I have specifically been threatened by Mr Lewis with bankruptcy.
Mr Wallis Simons boasts on his website:
In 2015, I published a series of articles exposing Jeremy Corbyn’s links with anti-Semitic figures, and this led to what is now known as the “Labour anti-Semitism scandal.”
It was my Sky TV appearance on this subject which led to this libel action against me.
It is my view that English libel law remains an international disgrace, a device by which the wealthy and those with wealthy backers, and only they, can stifle freedom of speech. Contempt of Court laws – with a penalty of two years imprisonment – even prevent poor defendants like me from putting their case openly before the public in order to appeal for a public defence fund. I am extremely limited in what I can tell you.
How can it cost just one party six times the average annual national wage to litigate a five minute TV broadcast? The libel system, with its in-built advantage to the wealthy and those backed by the wealthy, is a complete disgrace. Andy Wightman, the brilliant Scottish land reform campaigner, has been going through the same Hell.
I find I am obliged to beg you for funds to help me defend the case. I need to ask every single person who reads this blog to find it in their heart to make at least some contribution, as much as you can afford. The scale of this thing is such that I need to ask those of you who are comfortably off to make a far larger donation than you might normally consider. In practice we are going to need to include some four figure donations to make the ludicrous amounts required. But every single penny mounts up and please do give something.
If you have ever enjoyed this blog – join the fight. If you dislike this blog but support freedom of speech – join the fight. If you support the right to defend Palestine without being labelled ant-Semitic – join the fight. If you despised the anti-Corbyn media campaign – join the fight. If the Daily Mail sickens you – join the fight.
Every donation, no matter how small, will be gratefully received. The case will be heard in the High Court on 7 November. In the event of victory, after costs are met (even a costs award does not cover all actual costs) excess donations will be returned pro-rata unless you specify they should be applied to the future of maintaining the blog.
This is a question not only of the continued existence of this blog, but of the future well-being of my young family. It is unfair on you for me to place all of that in your hands, but that is the situation into which I am forced.
UPDATE 06/09 20:00 In just 8 hours we have received £21,790 in donations to the fighting fund. This is a fantastic start. 836 individuals have donated, making the average donation £26. The largest donation received is £1,000 and the smallest are £3. I am incredibly humbled and grateful that we are starting to have a chance. There have been so many kind messages, of which “you cast a lot of bread upon the waters helping others, Craig” made me greet for a bit. I have particularly enjoyed those from people who declare they agree with almost nothing I say but support free speech! About 60% of donations are from Scotland, but so far we have 22 different countries.
I really cannot express my gratitude enough.
On a practical point, a number of people have said they are not members of Paypal so could not donate. After clicking on “Donate”, just below and left of the “Log In” button is a small “continue” link which enables you to pay by card without logging in. For those who prefer not to pay online, you can send a cheque made out to me to Craig Murray, 89/14 Holyrood Road, Edinburgh, EH8 8BA. As regular readers know, it is a matter of pride to me that I never hide my address. A surprising number of people have asked for a Bitcoin option and we are working on it.
I found this interview by the lawyer who is suing me to be particularly interesting. I may say no more than that without danger of contempt of court.
Don’t forget to mark the paypal payment as a “Gift” rather than some payment – otherwise they’ll stripe you for an extra % of the transaction.
I have not received a penny in 10 months, and have nothing but yet costs bedevilling me for another one or two… people are very fast to invoice me, but show little enthusiasm for meeting their own from me, it would appear. Nevertheless, expect at least something in the next week or so.
good luck done n donated
Small amount donated in solidarity. I know every penny counts!
I think we have to all pull together against this kind of victimisation of an activist.
I realise you cannot tell us much about the case but reading between the lines it’s about this particularly ignorant and sometimes deliberate and divisive association of anti Zionism and anti semetism..
This concerns us all..
All the best.
I’d like to contribute as I value your blog ( and I met your wife in a writing no ciass), so feel a little connection to you both.I’ve tried twice to donate the little I can afford, as a mostly unemployed actor, but it keeps trying to make me log into or sign ups to PayPal which I do not want to do.
Is there a problem with the process?
“writing *class” I meant to type.
James, I’m certainly no expert in this but you don’t have to have an account with Pay Pal in order to donate. Nor do you have to sign in or up or whatever. All they need is your debit/credit card details, a postal address and a name. I hope this helps.
Done Craig good luck!x
Craig
Sorry to hear of your travails over this. Not entirely unexpected considering what’s going on with other Independence blogs. One question, why haven’t you set up a fundraiser via the usual channels i.e. indigogo or gofundme?
I believe you should as people like to see their contribution as being visible and how well you are doing. You will be supported, get yourself more visible and consider using one of the more mainstream ways of doing so. Just friendly advice.
Hope all goes well donation made
Done…may it help in some small way to preserve our increasingly tenuous grip on freedom to speak freely…
I am also being falsely accused at the moment, ironically by a fervent Christian who is supposed to believe in Moses’ 9th commandment, Do not bear false witness. I made a slightly near the knuckle joke , which was used or ab-used as evidence of a very serious offence. Sound familiar to you Craig. Nil carborundum.
The only people to whom it is not manifestly self -evident that Israel is not an apartheid state is the supporters of that state. It is both normal and truthful to hold this view and repeat it in public. Please have faith in British Justice. Judges upheld the right of parliament to be consulted on Brexit. You cannot be accused of libel for what is factually accurate.
You can be accused of libel for what is factually accurate but insults the person whose crimes you are revealing and repeating. But you are not insulting those who conflate anti-Zionism with anti-semitism. You are repeating their opinion, which they proudly hold in public, that speaking against Israeli brutality is being racist against Jews. Whoops! You’re up on the wrong charge. You should be up on the lesser charge of engaging your brain with the immorality of modern politics. How very dare you, as you put it once recently, deviate from the propaganda of the apartheid Israeli state? Money sent.
The only people to whom it is not manifestly self -evident that Israel is an apartheid state …
Done, – And the very best of luck to you.
Bit Short after Two Festivals and Getting a load of new camping gear..
However Finally managed to give £50.. Didn’t notice Glen’s ” Gift ” suggestion.
It’s Too Precious a cause not too get involved in this fight,
It looks like some of those who read the blog but don’t, or rarely Comment, have chipped in.. I hope More of those readers do the same.
Try to get out some walks Craig… Prepare the Spirit. Always Remember, a Lot of Folk are Right Behind You.
All the Best
I tried to make a donation via the donations page but it seems I can only do this using Paypal. I do not want to use paypal, so unless there’s a way I can pay with mastercard I’m sorry but I can’t donate. It will only be a small donation, as I’m retired, but I would like to help if at all possible.
If you go to the donate page and look at the bottom left hand corner you will see an option to pay with a credit card
I have ordered the keeper of the Kingdom of Welsh Noir treasury to remit some funds. If you need political asylum, just turn up at your nearest Kingdom of Welsh Noir consulate.
Donated but unfortunately I could only give a very small amount.
I think you should start a proper cowdfunder too.
Sick at heart to think you are being put through this, after all you endured as a whistle-blower. My husband and I both read and value your blog, and appreciate your courage and honest sharing of news and views. This attempt to mute freedom to speak out must be challenged, especially in a world which is spinning off its axis.
We wish to send a cheque as we don’t do PayPal and we can’t see a way of making a straight card donation. An address please? We pledge £100 as a gift, so want nothing returning when you win the case.
Is there anything more we can do to help you, your wife and family?
Such a popular, successful blog. Such a brave, independent thinker. We hope you are showered in donations. We will spread the word. Wishing you justice and peace of mind.
If you go to the donate page and look at the bottom left hand corner you will see an option to pay with a credit card
When my ex husband’s paramour brought a maicious libel suit against me I was advised to defend myself since the ball was in their court to prove that I had lied. I didn’t have to prove my innocence. Courts have to give people defending themselves a lot of leeway and the lawyers of the people bringing the suit have to read and pay attention to all your correspondence and phone calls at their client’s expence which I was advised to make as lengthy and frequent as possible. This worked a charm since their legal bills were rapidly mounting and they had no certainty of winning and even if they did they’d have no chance of obtaining the costs from me since I didn’t have the funds. Thr risk of bankrupcy is not so terrible, not as bad as trying to find money to defend yourself using lawyers for years on end. Call their bluff Craig.
Happy to donate for all the right reasons mentioned. Good luck with your fight… We all need you to win to protect our right to freedom of speech.
I have donated even though your views on Jess Phillips are disgusting.
Money sent. I’ve just started a post-grad course so can’t afford much, but hope it helps.
Donated. Have shared your posts so often that I feel I need to help protect you. This is an evil system that works for the privileged. Please keep everyone up to date with developments
I cannot get my comment past the mods again.
Donated
Now I thought if you said it in Scotland then the law would be dealt with in Scotland,the broadcaster is libel for the broadcast and should have known what it was getting into ergo try its another Murdoch fight.Of course if this was said in England then you come under the laws of England.
Síntiús beag ón dtaobh so. Go n-éirí ádh leat, a fhir uasail.
I donated a small amount, but only after the form had me jumping thru hoops. After filling it out, it came back with the credit card exp date missing and told me to fill it out again.
Then it came back with the cc number missing and had to fill that in again.
On top of all of this, the form made me enter the correct figures FOUR different times for security purposes. Either that form is ancient of someone is fugging with the entries.
Behind you all the way
They must not be allowed to succeed in beating you. It’s not just about you, it’s about all of us. I therefore pledge a contribution to you. All the best
Ckearly a organised campaign ongoing against Indy bloggers. Good luck with the case. Hopefully you can find someone to defend you for free.
Dear Craig
I am so sorry. Stay strong. Straw and the FCO shits did not break you. Don’t allow this pair of s***s to win. It’s a try on.
I will be sending a cheque.