Riley wrongly accused of bullying, court hears
V COUNTDOWN STAR Rachel Riley was wrongly accused of being responsible for death threats sent to a teenager when she tried to expose Labour antisemitism, a court has heard.
Ms Riley was branded a hypocrite and a bully by Mike Sivier in his Labour-supporting blog post on the Vox Political website.
He said she had “cold shouldered” a vulnerable 16-year-old and described her as “serial abuser Rachel Riley”.
It was in response to a Guardian article which reported that the 33-yearold presenter needed extra security when filming.
Ms Riley and EastEnders star Tracy-Ann Oberman have been active campaigners against the antisemitism which has plagued the Labour Party.
Michael Bennett QC, representing Ms Riley, said at a pre-trial hearing at the High
Court on Wednesday that Mr Sivier’s article was presented as a factual piece rather than opinion.
The article stated Ms Riley had “coldshouldered” a young girl with anxiety problems, which led to her supporters harassing her and sending death threats.
“It is not an expression of opinion, it a factual allegation. It says that Ms Riley’s behaviour has caused the appalling behaviour towards this young woman,” said Mr Bennett.
“We say that adds to the defamatory sting, because that makes Ms Riley to be an even worse person because of the suffering which was caused to this young woman.” He added: “The defamatory sting is that Ms Riley is a hypocrite because she gets protection from being abused while she has repeatedly abused this young woman.”
David Mitchell, representing Mr Sivier, argued that his client’s article cannot be read separately from two longer articles it cited.
“He is careful to advise his readers that this is the evidential basis on which he makes his case,” said Mr Mitchell.
The articles linked to by Mr Sivier alleged how Riley became involved in the bullying of the teenager, who suffers from anxiety.
Mr Mitchell said that the fact that Mr Sivier’s article was within the “live, fast-moving and fiendish” debate on antisemitism marked it as opinion.
Mr Mitchell argued that in no point in the article did Mr Sivier say Ms Riley encouraged her fans to harass the teenager.
However, Mr Justice Nicklin said that reading the article gives the impression that Ms Riley’s actions led to the harassment of the teenager.
The judge ruled that while the part of the article calling Ms Riley a hypocrite is opinion, the claims about the harassment campaign are presented as fact.
Mr Sivier has until the January 29 to present his new defence, ahead of a trial in the new year.
V THE UNION of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations (UOHC) has attacked a letter purporting to be an endorsement of Jeremy Corbyn from a senior Charedi rabbi, insisting he was “deceived” into signing it.
The letter, published by the far-left blog Skwawkbox, which has aggressively attacked critics of Mr Corbyn, appeared to have been signed by the head of UOHC’s rabbinate, Rabbi Ephraim Padwa.
It said: “We were shocked to learn about those who are disseminating rumours and accusing the leader of the Labour party, Mr Jeremy Corbyn, of being an antisemite...
“We therefore proclaim our view that we have no connection whatsoever with these irresponsible actions.”
But a spokesperson for UOHC, an umbrella group that represents strictly Orthodox shuls, said some had taken “advantage of the Rov’s current poor health”.
“It is truly shocking that [those behind the letter] would seek to take advantage of the Rov’s current poor health by deceiving him into signing a letter that has now been twisted into an endorsement of Jeremy Corbyn and circulated widely
The letter of ‘endorsement’ by Mr Stern,” the spokesperson said.
“The Rov’s position is clear in that he does not involve himself in such partisan political matters. This has always been the mesorah (tradition) of the Rov and indeed the Rov’s late father.”
The UOHC initially claimed Shraga Stern, a prominent anti-LGBT education activist from the Charedi community, was involved in the letter.
When contacted for comment, Mr Stern denied this. “I had nothing to do with it,” Mr Stern said.
The UOHC later issued a second statement that appeared to withdraw the allegation against him, referring instead to “a few irresponsible hotheads”.
The JC understands the UOHC is investigating who was responsible.
Mr Stern referred the JC to another Charedi rabbi, Rabbi Tambur, who said he asked Rabbi Padwa to sign the letter because he feared the Jewish community would be attacked if Labour lost Thursday’s General Election.
“Whether Labour win or they lose, we are worried about it being a danger for us. If they win, it’s a danger for us. If they lose, it’s a danger. We’ll be blamed either way,” he said.
He claimed Rabbi Padwa had advised him on the contents of the letter before changing his mind about it being released. “Someone leaked it after that,” he said.
It is not an expression of opinion, it is a factual allegation’