Baroness quits LibDems after chairing ‘anti-Israel’ meeting
A PEER has resigned from the Liberal Democrats after chairing a meeting at which Israel was compared to terror group Islamic State and Jews were blamed for the Holocaust.
Baroness Tonge told she resigned from the party “about the same time” as she was suspended by its leader.
The peer is a former MP for Richmond Park, which the Liberal Democrats hope to win back from Zac Goldsmith who has triggered a by-election in the constituency over his opposition to Heathrow.
Baroness Tonge sat as an independent peer but was still a member of the LibDems until yesterday afternoon, when she was suspended and quit.
The remarks were made by a speaker at an event at the House of Lords run by the Palestinian Return Centre, which live-streamed it on its Facebook page.
Baroness Tonge was accused of “baiting Jews” by the Campaign Against Antisemitism and the remarks prompted one MP to call for Britain to apologise to Israel. Baroness Tonge defended her actions and insisted she did not hear the full “rant”. The peer said she would not have intervened to stop or eject the speaker if she had heard him.
She said: “I was chairing, I did not make any speeches, I introduced the speakers and in the course of that meeting there was a great rant.
“I remember the rant very well but I don’t remember hearing very much of it. It was a rant. I didn’t know what this person said.
“You do get ranters at these meetings and I think the best way of dealing with them – if you challenge them they go on and on and on andon–thebestwayisto just say ‘yes, thank you very much, next speaker’.”