fringe events are not organised or authorised by the party but his presence alongside thousands of party
members at the conference risks causing a major headache for Labour officials.
The parliamentary chair of the Jewish Labour Movement said his presence would be inappropriate on every
level, but Mr Williamson said his critics were mischief makers who should “pipe down”. The MP, a vocal
supporter of Jeremy Corbyn, is listed as a speaker at a fringe event on a green new deal being hosted by the
Gower Initiative for Modern Money Studies. He told The Independent he had also been booked to speak at a
number of other events.
Labour said the Gower event was not an official part of the conference. Mr Williamson said he had not yet
requested a security pass to the main conference and sources suggested he would not be granted one while
he remained suspended. Events at which he is speaking will not be approved or promoted by the party.
However, the announcement that he will speak at fringe events around the main conference prompted
anger from Labour MPs.
Mr Williamson was suspended by the party in March after being recorded claiming that Labour had given
too much ground on the issue on antisemitism and been too apologetic in its response to the crisis. He had
previously made a series of contentious comments in relation to antisemitism, including defending people
who had been kicked out of the party for alleged anti-Jewish abuse.
The MP was readmitted to the party after a hearing in June but was quickly suspended again following an
angry backlash at the decision. Reports last week suggested he had now been referred to the party’s main
disciplinary body, the National Constitutional Committee, for a full investigation. He has vowed to clear his
name.
Stoke-on-Trent North MP Ruth Smeeth, the parliamentary chair of the Jewish Labour Movement, told The
Independent: “No one in the Labour Party should be sharing a platform with members who are suspended in
relation to antisemitism.
“This is inappropriate on every level and the Labour Party must make sure it does not indulge this kind of
activity. [Mr Williamson] is currently subject to a disciplinary hearing – on that basis he should not be
granted a pass to conference and nor should he be turning up to wind everyone up.
“This is problematic and unnecessary, particularly given that we’re in Brighton, where we’ve seen some
appalling antisemitic abuse from within the Labour Party. I don’t think this is appropriate at all.”
Ilford North MP Wes Streeting, who chairs the all-party parliamentary group on antisemitism, said: ”It
beggars belief that people are still willing to give Chris Williamson a platform given his conduct. As he is
suspended from the Labour Party he should not be speaking at events at our conference.”
But a defiant Mr Williamson told The Independent he would not be deterred by “malcontents” and
suggested that his critics risked breaching human rights laws relating to freedom of speech.
He said: “I haven’t got a pass yet, but I will be speaking at various fringe events at this year’s Labour Party
conference. It’s a tragedy that a tiny but noisy minority of party members want to trash the spirit of the
Human Rights Act. It’s one of Labour’s greatest achievements. Maybe these malcontents have forgotten
that Labour enshrined freedom of expression into British law nearly 21 years ago.
“If these mischief-makers are genuinely interest in winning the next election, they should pipe down and
devote their energies to exposing the Tories and promoting a common sense socialist programme. That’s
the way to beat Boris Johnson, rather than attempting to censor the voices of people like me who speak for
the overwhelming bulk of party members and the vast majority of Labour supporters.”
Of the Gower Initiative event, a Labour spokesperson said: “This event is not part of our conference fringe
and is not connected to Labour Party conference in any way.”