Sinister links of cult of Corbyn
EXPOSED: Corbyn backers have secret ties to anti-Semitic group ‘Momentum’ used hardline fanatics as cover to deselect MPs
THE hardline Left-wing group backing Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership campaign has secret links with an extremist organisation accused of anti-Semitism to boost his support among Muslims, The Mail on Sunday has learned.
An official from Momentum, described as Corbyn’s ‘Praetorian Guard’, told an undercover reporter she had indirect contact with a disgraced group called the Muslim Public Affairs Committee (MPAC) to ‘orchestrate’ backing for the Labour leader.
Another Momentum official suggested to our reporter to contact MPAC discreetly to garner support.
MPAC, which once publicly mocked Holocaust Remembrance Day, has been banned by the National Union of Students from university campuses for the last 12 years because of its extreme views.
Our investigation comes after repeated accusations of antiSemitism against Labour under Mr Corbyn, who once called terrorist group Hamas ‘friends’. Earlier this month, the launch of an internal Labour report into the problem descended into chaos when the Labour leader was accused of comparing Israel with Islamic State.
The disturbing new link came after a five-week investigation into Momentum by The Mail on Sunday which found that far from a ‘rabble’, the cult-like cadre deploys tactics far removed from the values of traditional Labour. Today we reveal: A Momentum official used a hardline organisation called Novara Media as a cover to write a step-bystep guide on deselecting Labour MPs, authored under a false name;
The Left-wing activist behind Novara was a fanatic who brought chaos to Britain’s high streets in a series of tax protests, before changing his name;
Momentum installed a secret ‘mole’ inside Tory HQ to spy on London Mayoral candidate Zac Goldsmith, so the Left-wingers could ambush him at events.
Publicly, Jeremy Corbyn claims to champion a new, ‘kinder’ politics, and Momentum, the grassroots movement which grew out of his successful leadership campaign last autumn, insists it rejects ‘abusive behaviour towards MPs or anyone else’.
But inside Momentum’s two London ‘war rooms’ this month, there was nothing ‘kind’ about the sentiments on display towards the ‘enemy’ – fellow Labour members who dare to disagree.
Our reporter was able to observe Momentum’s inner workings at the two offices. One is in Holborn, provided by the Unite union, whose kingmaker general secretary Len McCluskey is Corbyn’s most powerful ally; the other near Euston Station in the HQ of the Transport Salaried Staff Association.
Our reporter noticed the strong support which MPAC was lending online to Mr Corbyn’s leadership campaign and raised the group with Momentum officials.
MPAC’s founder Asghar Bukhari once donated cash to Holocaust denier David Irving, describing his outrageous views as ‘The Truth’. In 2013, on Holocaust Remembrance Day, MPAC posted on its Facebook page: ‘Take your holocaust, roll it up nice tight then shove it up your (be creative)!’
When our reporter discussed MPAC with Momentum’s London organiser Faduma Hassan, she admitted there had been contact through intermediaries, but appeared to have no concerns about the group. Ms Hassan – pictured next to Corbyn as he launched his leadership campaign last week – said of MPAC: ‘I
‘The campaign is a long summer of war’
don’t know them a lot, I just deal with them whenever I need anything.’ Later, asked about MPAC’s support for Corbyn on its Facebook page, she added: ‘I am glad they are doing it. I didn’t even notice.
‘That’s fantastic, thank you for updating me.’
Former teacher Ms Hassan, 26, a member of Young Labour’s National Committee, explained: ‘You know when you work with a group of people, and you have a meeting with them… so we orchestrate things and then we let it go.’
MPAC yesterday denied there had been any contact.
On a separate occasion, Rob Lugg, 35 – Momentum’s representative in Wandsworth, South London – discussed a covert relationship between the group and MPAC in comments our reporter secretly recorded.
He said of MPAC: ‘I think they’re definitely not like, “Oh, we shouldn’t go anywhere near them”, but I don’t know what the issues are particularly. But maybe there are issues that we should just investigate a bit – we might not be able to openly cooperate with each other, but that doesn’t mean we can’t pass each other information.’ One of the key weapons which Corbyn and Momentum deploy against their ‘enemies’ within the ranks of Labour MPs is the threat of deselection. A foretaste of what lies ahead came with the controversial vote over air strikes against Islamic State in Syria last December when Labour MPs who backed the bombing – in defiance of Mr Corbyn – were subjected to a vicious campaign of intimidation.
In recent weeks, 63 MPs have stepped down from frontbench positions while 172 signed a motion of no-confidence in the leader. Last week, Mr Corbyn raised the prospect of a wholesale purge of dissidents when he announced a ‘full and open’ selection process in every single seat before the next General Election.
A few days earlier, our reporter watched as Momentum’s national organiser, James Schneider, drilled backroom staff on how the campaign, described by a colleague as ‘a long summer of war’, would be waged.
He made it clear Momentum was prepared to use subterfuge and employ ‘proxies’ for their attacks on MPs to keep their own hands clean.
Referring to the MPs who have resigned from the Shadow Cabinet, he said: ‘We have to ridicule them and embarrass them through proxies. That’s the strategy.’
On TV, however, public school educated Schneider, son of a multi-millionaire, wants to present a more moderate face – hence the use of ‘proxies’, or third parties.
And a key proxy employed by Momentum online is Novara Media, dubbed by Momentum’s treasurer Michael Chessum as ‘our armed police’. Senior Momentum volunteer Sophie Nazemi added they were Momentum’s ‘militant wing’. The driving force behind Novara, with its multi-media platform hosting articles and videos, is one Aaron Bastani, 32, formerly known as Aaron Peters, who describes himself as a ‘political commentator’, but who not so long ago used to organise the chaotic UK Uncut tax protests.
At the time, as our photo shows, he was keen to show off the impressive results of his hours in the gym. Bastani’s website is full of glowing tributes to Corbyn, but one of the articles – a step-by-step guide to ‘deselecting Labour MPs’ – was secretly written by a Momentum member and primary school teacher called James McAsh, who is the London Representative of London Young
‘The group sent a spy into Tory headquarters’
Labour. Significantly, Mr McAsh did not sign the article himself, instead using the pseudonym Eric Sim.
One of the leading opponents to Mr Corbyn in recent weeks was Labour MP Angela Eagle, who mounted a leadership bid, before giving way to colleague Owen Smith. Ms Eagle faced death threats when she first announced her candidature. A brick was thrown through her office window.
But only a few days later, our reporter heard Ms Nazemi joking that the Momentum campaign of exposing Ms Eagle’s voting record would be cast as ‘low-key bullying’.
Ms Nazemi, 21, said: ‘What we are doing is low-key bullying for Eagle to resign.’
During the highly charged London Mayoral campaign between Tory Zac Goldsmith and Labour’s Sadiq Khan, Momentum sent ‘spy’ Beth Foster-Ogg, 18, into Conservative HQ. Senior Momentum official Santiago Bell-Bradford, 24, said: ‘We wanted to ambush him.’
An MPAC spokesman said the organisation had ‘never contacted Momentum or been approached by any of its representatives’. He added the Holocaust Remembrance Day message was posted by a volunteer who was then removed.
Aaron Bastani, the co-founder of Novara Media, denied his organisation has become a propaganda wing for Momentum. He said: ‘We are a news organisation, we cover them [Momentum], and if there is a story, obviously we write about them.’
A spokesman for Momentum said: ‘The Mail on Sunday and Omar Wahid have exploited Momentum’s enthusiastic young activists. Wahid posed as a socially awkward volunteer of limited competence.
‘He was warmly welcomed and in return undermined the trust and generosity of spirit of the Momentum team. He acted in a way that appears to proximate entrapment.
‘In addition he seems to have specifically targeted Muslim volunteers in what looks like an attempt to smear them and Momentum as anti-Semitic. Momentum has no relationship with MPAC.
‘Faduma Hassan has had no contact with MPAC either as an individual or on behalf of Momentum.’