The End of the Affair 918

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At the High Court today the following joint statement was agreed.

On 29 April 2016, Jake Wallis Simons and Craig Murray appeared together on Sky News to debate anti-Semitism in the United Kingdom. Following that debate, Dr Wallis Simons issued libel proceedings against Mr Murray. Dr Wallis Simons and Mr Murray have now settled these proceedings.

By this statement, Mr Murray accepts that Dr Wallis Simons is not a liar, and Dr Wallis Simons accepts that Mr Murray is not an anti-Semite. They are both pleased to have resolved this dispute amicably.

I am genuinely happy with this outcome, which would never have been remotely possible without the incredible 5,000 plus people who donated to my defence fund and enabled me to be represented by a top legal team. It continues to be my view that the libel laws are appalling – had I lost the case I was very definitely looking at a cost of £350,000 plus.

I am also very grateful to the band of readers of this blog who arrived to support me, and in the end saw very little. When invited to open the case the other side immediately asked for an adjournment to discuss a settlement. The hour of delay which followed was occupied on our side almost entirely by my agonising over whether it was morally acceptable for me to agree this statement and use the defence fund to pay my lawyers, or whether those who donated did so in the expectation I would fight the case whatever.

There were a number of supporters at hand who had donated, many of whom were personally previously unknown to me, and the opinions I could canvass were unanimously that this was a good result and a good use of their money.

Having agreed to settle in this way, I have arrived at this following decision. If anybody who donated feels they have been unduly sold out, please let me know through the contact button above and your donation will be refunded to you.

When we started the defence fund, our “realistic” projection was a total of £12,000. That we eventually raised over £100,000 is astonishing. Equally astonishing, but in a bad way, is that my own legal team’s cost almost amounts to that – I will publish full accounts in due course. After all is settled and refunds issued to those who wish, if anything is left over I propose to split it between Andy Wightman’s defence fund and Neil Clark’s case against Oliver Kamm. Again please do let me know if you object. It’s actually your money not mine.

I did not realise how this has been weighing me down, until the threat has been lifted today. I have never claimed to be entirely without fault, and I would ask you to refrain from any comment here which detracts from the amicable spirit of the joint statement. It is a time for celebration not recrimination, and please confine any rudeness to remarks about me.

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918 thoughts on “The End of the Affair”

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  • Doug M

    Congratulations Craig. You haven’t sold anyone out, it’s just not in you. This was a shakedown by a bully to shut you up and I’m glad to have helped you stand up to him.

    • Old Mod Jon

      My guess, given the information above, is that the amount raised for Craig’s defence was consumed by his team on their own. That would mean that Simons would have to pay his own costs, and I’d guess that would have consumed much the same amount.

    • Courtenay Barnett

      I raised that question as regards costs at:-

      November 7, 2017 at 22:43

      It seems that each side paid its own legal fees to their lawyers.

      Better than having to pay one’s lawyer(s) and also be stuck with costs for the other side in a case that is lost.

      So – viewed in very practical terms; a satisfactory result.

  • John Tap

    Priti Patel is MP for Witham in south Essex. Has she ever expressed an opinion on the Canvey Island Independence Party (CIIP), which campaigns for independence for Canvey Island? Canvey is in the nearby constituency of Castle Point, and the CIIP holds 14 seats on Castle Point Borough Council and two on Essex County Council.

    The CIIP supports the settlement by orthodox Haredi Jews into Canvey – where they have been knocking on doors making offers to buy people’s homes – a move which you will probably soon hear more of and that is supported by the Community Security Trust. See also here.

    • Shatnersrug

      Canvey island is a perfect place for a self isolating death cult, with only two roads on and off on an island dangerously bellow sea level in an era of rising tide just think of the wonderful isolation they might get.

      But they’re not the only ones with that idea – where the hassids go the Africans are sure to follow. And after them come the gentrifriers.

      I left Benfleet 25 years ago to live in Stoke Newington. Ironic that the reason I can afford to live here anymore is rich white people. The same white people who now turn their noses up at Canvey

      • N_

        @Shatnersrug – Have you got any more gen on what’s going on in Canvey Island? I wonder whether the plan is for the main police to be the Shomrim, and for an eruv to be set up? (Article in Daily Mail on eruvs in London.)

        From Priti Patel’s resignation letter:

        “From the backbenches I will take an active role representing and speaking up for the good people of the Witham constituency. I look forward to highlighting the great entrepreneurial spirit in this part of Essex that has created new jobs and growth and to take my campaigns for new investment in infrastructure and services to the floor of the House of Commons.” (emphasis added).

        If there are so many “entrepreneurs” in the area, why can’t they invest their own fucking money in “infrastructure”? I thought “entrepreneurs” were supposed to take risks?

        What the plan is for Canvey makes me shudder to think.

  • Tony_0pmoc

    Craig, Thanks from Bob,

    “Bob Marley & The Wailers – Exodus”

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67d_ZrJY2eo

    To try and explain a most abused and misunderstood term ZION (it has little to do with Eastern Europeans & Russians- Nor Western Europeans – we weren’t There – we we living in igloos with very white skins)

    “In Rastafari, “Zion” stands for a utopian place of unity, peace and freedom, as opposed to “Babylon”, the oppressing and exploiting system of the materialistic modern world and a place of evil.[15]

    It proclaims Zion, as reference to Ethiopia, the original birthplace of humankind, and from the beginning of the movement calls to repatriation to Zion, the Promised Land and Heaven on Earth”

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zion

    Tony

  • Mary Smith

    In her reply to now former cabinet minister Priti Patel, Theresa May states that “the UK and Israel are close allies” and that the countries should “work closely together”, but only on a formal and official basis. She also praises the upholding of “high standards of transparency and openness”.

    Yet no treaty of alliance between the UK and Israel has ever been published.

    A petition at Change.org calls for Theresa May to publish the documents that established the close alliance that she refers to. You can sign it here. Please do! And please circulate this call to help the petition get off the ground, whether on Facebook, Twitter, by email, or otherwise. THANK YOU!

    The petition states as follows.

    ***************************
    On 8 November 2017, British Prime Minister Theresa May published her letter to Priti Patel, who had just resigned as British Secretary of State for International Development. Mrs May wrote that Britain and Israel are “close allies” and that the two countries’ cooperation “must be done formally, and through official channels”.

    During the Suez war in 1956 there was no admitted cooperation between Britain and Israel. During the Six Day War in 1967, Britain officially declared neutrality. During the Yom Kippur War in 1973, the European Economic Community, of which Britain was a member, also declared neutrality.

    There has never been an officially published treaty of alliance between Britain and Israel, let alone “close alliance”. Indeed Britain does not formally recognise Israeli sovereignty over any part of Israel’s claimed capital city, Jerusalem.

    Since there is a “close alliance” today, we call on the British Prime Minister to publish the treaty or other documents that established the alliance, in accordance with her stated commitment that cooperation “must be done formally”.
    ***************************

    • Duncan McFarlane

      While i’m not a fan of Priti Patel it seems a bit ludicrous that she has to resign over trying to direct some British foreign aid to an Israeli military field hospital giving free operations to Syrian refugees, while the entire cabinet get to stay in office while approving arms sales to the Saudis as they target hospitals and schools in Yemen.

      And i’m not saying that because i’m any great fan of the IDF – they’ve committed plenty of war crimes against civilians as much as their enemies have (and with a lot more firepower on the IDF side so a higher death toll caused) , but providing medical treatment to Syrian refugees is still a good cause.

      • Mary Smith

        What does that have to do with the push to make the British govt publish the documents that established the “close alliance” between Britain and Israel that Theresa May refers to?

        Documents that establish close alliances between states are called treaties. Why should they be secret?

        • Duncan McFarlane

          I’ve no problem with that if any such documents exist – though i doubt they do

          • N_

            Then let the government say what the two sides’ obligations are under the close alliance, when it was established and so on, and if there are no documents then why, and why parliament has never had a chance to vote on it, etc.

            Perhaps they will foam at the mouth and say there’s too much danger in opening up about it all, because the population are at such risk of “anti-Semitism”, and it’s best that people just know Britain has a close alliance with nuclear-armed ethnic-cleansing ethnic-supremacist Israel and then go back to texting each other crap on their phones?

          • nevermind

            Would it be a good time now to investigate the aims and objectives of the friends of Israel in all parties? To say that these split loyalties don’t harm UK politics, when there are clearly influences working on these friends that are not compatible vis a vis the remit of local constituencies they represent?

            This sole friendship saga running through the main political parties is an anathema. How come we have had and still have better relations with a ME state that has undeclared borders and steals land by the mile than we have with our EU partners?

            Why are there no FoNZealand, FoAustralia, FoIndIa? or Fo our EU partners?
            Is Israel determining UK foreign policy and or the day to day resolve?
            If Mrs May knew of Priti Patels agenda and meetings then we should be told that our Government is steered from Tel Aviv.
            Just to mention the German submarine deal which is now being investigated and has Mr. Netanyahu in a flutter, another in the long line of leaders who are hauled in front of the courts for his offshore accounts and alleged corruption. Is this the best friendship we can foster? why?

        • Duncan McFarlane

          yeah fair point – if they’re knowingly treating wounded Syrian rebels that’s different – though still a lot better than arming them or the Saudis

          • Macky

            “though still a lot better than arming them or the Saudis”

            What makes you so sure that they don’t ?

          • N_

            FFS. Assistance for the wounded is good and it’s public relations. There are millions of refugees in a country bordering “Israel” and the Israelis have accepted almost none.

      • laguerre

        “but providing medical treatment to Syrian refugees is still a good cause.” Were it the case, no doubt it would be a good cause. However medical treatment was only provided to jihadis and their families.

      • P Sued-O'Nymne

        They’re not only refugees. The hospital mostly treats wounded al Qaida fighters. There’s plenty of evidence out there, even in the daily mail. Surely you agree our hard earned taxes might be better spent on causes more worthy than patching up the afore mentioned terrorists?

      • Mary Smith

        Sure. She can either publish the treaty of alliance or she can say she was lying or mistaken when she said the close alliance existed.

  • Duncan McFarlane

    Sounds like a fair enough result and a fair way to spend any left over money. Ridiculous that it cost that much in legal fees for a case that short, but everyone knows libel lawyers do not come cheap. If there’s a major crime here it’s the amount they’re allowed to charge.

    Wallis Simons must have too much money or not enough sense, or both, to have ever brought this case in the first place.

  • Sue Whitefoot

    So pleased about the outcome. I support your decision, taken with supporters present, to agree to a settlement. I wish you well in the future.

  • James Watts

    I am pleased that the weight has been lifted fro your shoulders. You may keep my donation to do what you think appropriate.

  • Steve Trow

    Confine any rudeness to remarks about you Craig?
    Well we’ve never met but as one of your donors I have to say.. – Standing up to bullies? Resolutely exposing sophistry and viciousness? Obstinately insisting on the truth? I’ve never come across such contumacious intransigence.
    You should be ashamed of yourself!

  • sentinel

    Relieved that an an oppressive weight has been taken off your shoulders.

    It is regrettable that an individual’s home and savings should be put at risk over such a matter. I had hoped that EU law by now would have caught up with the US First Amendment. In the meantime perhaps only deal with broadcasters that are prepared to stand with you – the BBC indemnify contributors: see para #7 http://www.bbc.co.uk/editorialguidelines/guidance/consent/how

  • David L McKenzie

    ” …please confine any rudeness to remarks about me.” Truly a mark of the worthy man.
    Congratulations to you on what I for one consider a success. Now, enjoy the sensation of stress draining away.

  • Lorna McGowan

    So pleased you are free from this litigation Craig. Also very happy to have any funds left over sent to Andy Weightman

  • Y

    Craig,

    This is great news and I think many of us are breathing a sigh of relief on your behalf.

    As to your suggestion re the two defense funds, I agree.

    Take care and sleep well.

    Y

  • Yitzhak

    Why not use the money you got from donations to help J e w i s h victims of A ra b terror? Oh, wait…

    • glenn_nl

      Wouldn’t the Palestinian people be a more fitting beneficiary , given they have been brutally occupied for over 70 years now, by forces not interested in human rights, International Law, or even basic decency? After all, it’s pretty bad having a bottle-rocket land in a field only miles from where you live for sure, but the occupied people of Palestine are lacking the basic necessities of life.

    • nevermind

      He who denies the sanctity of life, imprisons/ kills children without regress, who ignore the world community, their rules and regulations, are truly in need of help.

      We should help them to focus by abstaining and impoverishing them as much as they have brutally controlled their fellow Palestinians which whom they share Palestine with, at the behest of Balfour, and the UN. That the right wing forces in Europe regard Israel’s policies towards Palestinians as a model for their own plans on how to deal with Refugees from Syria,Iraq, Libya and Sudan, is the reality of a fascist revival.
      Israel will need our help, but not with attacking Iran or anybody else, but with changing their policies by abstaining from their products, by disinvestment, boycott and other peaceful means.
      No soda stream, Naval oranges or fancy figs, no electronic trickery or repressive know how, war or false friendships anymore.
      Surely that would help a lot to focus the minds of petty Zionists.

  • SA

    Excellent result Craig. I continue reading this blog which is almost now a sort of community of people who may bicker with each other but still find it useful to discus. Keep up the good work.

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