► Top lawyer brands Berger ‘evil’ in rant at party office
► THE BOARD OF Deputies has confirmed it will investigate defence committee member and top corporate lawyer Jonathan Metliss under its code of conduct after claims that he burst into the campaign office of Lib Dem candidate for Finchley and Golders Green Luciana Berger and tore election posters off the windows while shouting abuse about her for opposing the Conservative candidate, Mike Freer.
Ms Berger was not in the office at the time.
One deputy said: “Mr Metliss’s behaviour would appear to mirror that of the hard-left fanatics who hounded Luciana out of the Labour Party in Liverpool.”
Mr Metliss, chairman of business law firm Axiom Stone stormed into the offices on Friday afternoon.
According to multiple sources, he branded Ms Berger “evil” and a “disgrace” for standing as a parliamentary candidate and also made further crude allegations about her.
Apparently unable to control his anger, Mr Metliss, who is chairman of the anti-football racism charity Action against Discrimination, then shocked Lib Dem volunteers working in the office by tearing campaign posters featuring Ms Berger off a window.
A spokesperson for Ms Berger, who repeatedly faced threats during her time as a Labour MP, confirmed the incident had been reported to the police.
One eyewitness told the JC:
“It was shortly before Shabbat because I was getting ready to go to shul. Jonathan Metliss just launched into the tirade against Luciana.
“He accused her of being evil and there was some sort of reference to her personal life. He then added she was a disgrace and that by standing in Finchley against Freer she was allowing Corbyn
to become Prime Minister.
“He then pulled a poster off the front window of the premises which had Luciana’s picture on.
“He carried on tearing off leaflets from the walls. All of this was done in front of the campaign team. Most of them are volunteers. Then he just stormed out.”
Another witness told the JC: “It was quite horrible to see. This man in his 50s, who I was later told was Jonathan Metliss, just started hurling abuse about Luciana.
“There was real venom and hatred in his language.
Mr Metliss’s role on the Board’s defence committee allows him to offer advice and opinion on a variety of issues including security, and shechita. He has been a member of the Westminster Conservative Association and on the executive of the Conservative Friends of Israel group.
A specialist in corporate finance and take-overs and mergers, he was a founder member of the SJ Berwin law firm. He has also worked as a consultant to the Shore Capital Group.
Mr Metliss has been involved in large UK corporate transactions including British Land’s £1.17bn acquisition of The Broadgate Estate and takeovers of Tottenham Hotspur FC in the early 1980s and 2000. In September Mr Metliss was appointed chairman of business law firm Axiom Stone.
In his role with the AAD football charity he began a joint campaign with the Board of Deputies over antisemitic chants from fans.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, Mr Metliss apologised to the owner of the building that houses Ms Berger’s campaign headquarters.
He also claimed to have returned to the office on Monday evening to apologise and calm down tensions but several sources present disputed this version of events.
The JC was asked by Ms Berger’s campaign team not to disclose the name of the business hosting their operation in the interests of staff security.
In his statement, Mr Metliss said he
“dropped in” to the office as he “was walking to shul on Friday evening”.
“I saw a Lib Dem poster in the window and went in to tell him that he should not be supporting Luciana Berger. I am a supporter of the work that Mike Freer does as the Conservative MP for Finchley and Golders Green.
“I had no idea that it was the Lib Dem campaign headquarters, nor that it was being used by their new candidate Ms Berger. There was no signage or any other indication to suggest that it was. Even after I went inside that was still not apparent to me.
“Ms Berger was NOT present in the office at that time.”
He said the incident “lasted only seconds but it resulted in me tearing down a poster as I walked out, which was an ill-judged and regrettable act on my part.Whilst I acknowledge that my outburst was ill-judged, nobody was harmed or threatened and save for a torn poster, no damage was caused. I have unreservedly apologised for any distress that I caused.
“Behind this though is a legitimate concern shared by many members of the Jewish community that Ms Berger is campaigning for the Lib Dems in a constituency represented by Mr Freer, a Conservative, who is a long standing and supportive member of the Jewish community and the State of Israel.
“The effect of Ms Berger campaigning for this seat may be to split the Jewish vote and in doing so, assist Labour in winning the seat and bolstering Jeremy Corbyn’s prospects of becoming Prime Minister, which is a frightening prospect for the UK Jewish community.”
This man just started hurling abuse about Luciana’ Nobody was harmed or threatened and... no damage was caused’