Martin Forde KC speaks out
JVL introduction
Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit have released the video below in which Martin Forde KC speaks publicly for the first time about the report he was commissioned to write by Labour leader Keir Starmer.
It is noteworthy that the interview opens with Forde remarking: “Islamophobia, anti-Black racism, isn’t taken as seriously as antisemitism. That’s the perception that came through.” This and other significant conclusions in his report have been ignored by mainstream media, and by the Labour Party itself.
Here is the Al Jazeera unit’s description of the video’s content.
In July 2022, independent barrister Martin Forde KC produced a report on racism and factionalism in the British Labour Party. Commissioned by the party leader, Keir Starmer, it identified what it called a “hierarchy of racism”, with antisemitism taken more seriously within the Party than other forms of racism.
Now Forde speaks publicly for the first time to Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit. He reveals he has heard almost nothing from the Labour Party since the report was published. And he says he resisted pressure from the BBC to remove criticism of its 2019 Panorama documentary, Is Labour Anti-Semitic?
Forde said he felt “vindicated” by the I-Unit investigation, The Labour Files, which he found fascinating. Released in September 2022, the investigation revealed the inner workings of Britain’s opposition party, which many believe will form the next government.
The Forde Report: ignored by the media and the Labour Party
Martin Forde KC speaks out
CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO PLAY THE VIDEO
Unfortunately this latest story, which explodes the lies & should by rights make headlines in any paper with a shred of interest in exposing the truth, will go the way of all the others: memory-holed, along with last month’s chocolate ration.
I met Martin Forde when he came to speak to a pre-Windrush compensation event in Liverpool, that my partner organised. Gave him a lift back to the railway station.
He seemed a genuine and honest guy. An article about him revealed the racist assumptions he faced as a Lawyer, and later, Judge. Up untilk now I felt he was rather *played* by the Labour Party.
Well worth a read for an insight into him, as a Black man within *the system* : https://www.counselmagazine.co.uk/articles/righting-wrongs-martin-forde-qc
Several people have tried to link to and / or mention the Forde video in the “Guardian” and their comments have been “moderated” (ie they’ve disappeared). I saw one briefly before it disappeared and believe this “moderation” is not legitimate.
Please could other JVL posters try mentioning this report in emails to their local press and specialist press (eg journals dealing with anti-racism, good HR practices and the like)? If these posters could report back to us on their success (or lack of it) results we might be better armed against the censorship we currently face. We might even be able to shame the “Guardian” into better behaviour.
Martin Forde was clearly a very good choice to carry out the investigation. Calm, precise, understated, restrained, courteous, utterly reasonable. Very worth watching on this film. He must have wondered into what nightmare he had wandered. He was approached by just ONE media outlet the day the report was issued. He sensibly suggested the journalist concerned read the report first and come back to him. The journalist never returned and NO other outlet approached him. That is beyond astounding.
Martin Forde makes excuse after excuse to explain why the Labour Party did nothing.
It’s on the record, it was a scam
But everyone involved knew it, not least the perpetrators
All that is left is when will they be brought to justice
We all know there’s no point maintaining media silence about anything that’s already widely discussed in newsletters, emails and tweets not controlled by the would be censors.
We each of us have SOME family members, friends and acquaintances who are at least peripherally interested in matters of fairness, democracy and politics. If we can each find just two or three of these people who’d be willing enough to view the Forde video and then forward it to other contacts, the local press, community newsletters, their own political parties etc then silencing Forde and failing to right the wrongs he’s identified in Labour becomes much more difficult.
Labour has excluded / persuaded to resign many individuals deeply committed to the party and heartbroken over what it’s become. These individuals now have nothing to lose and may be willing to support each other in circulating the Forde material to their own contacts within the unions, Labour student groups, other semi-left-wing parties etc.
Labour HQ won’t address the injustices outlined by Forde UNLESS it becomes so politically embarrassing and damaging to Starmer’s continuance in his role that they’re forced to. A Labour front bench that’s an autocracy – and an inept autocracy at that – funded and controlled by rich donors and not by its members won’t (and can’t) provide a true political alternative to the Tories. A political party without any real purpose and publicly meaningful policies – plus insecure, dodgy finances – may not even survive for long.
Hi Linda
This has repeatedly happened to myself on a number of occasion the past 12 months.
Sometimes messages are not only moderated , but they are completely removed from the Guardian website so there is no trace of them even being moderated.
I was told i was repeatedly in breach of ‘point 8 Keep it Relevant’ of their community guidelines; and this would even be on political live articles of the day involving the Labour Party. And the speed in which in they removed these comments indicates to me that this an automated and deliberately active policy.
I fail to see the point that a couple of others’ views here I believe fall into the nice trap!
Oh, we have to appeal to their good side, beg to be heard and all that is wrong and insulting we will never be given a chance. They will always shout, scream, lie and BS and do anything and everything to retain power and control this is essential to the right-wing project of power. The only way to win is to not waste your time on any of these rags or news channels! There will never be truth or party.
The only way to win is to set up as various left-wing publications have our lefty news services that at least strive for balance if not objective truth in the media.
These small organizations I would maintain should deserve our patronage and leave the Guardian, The Daily Mirror etc alone as I said we may get a few stories out there via these but by and large the establishment media will always be pro-right wing or centralist Zombie Blairism as I describe them.
The main issue is driving eyes to these organizations as the establishment(right-wing) again is desperately trying to shore up the right-wing narrative and idology.
Well like in everything we have a choice keep on doing the same failed things that don’t work and will never change or work or try something new the choice as they say is yours!
I share and back up the beliefs of Linda and Naomi that the Guardian use the ‘moderation’ excuse to politically censor posts. I have been prevented (posts with the longevity of a mayfly) even from mentioning Al-Jazeera’s “The Labour Files” in any context. Even attempting to draw attention to the Forde video was ‘offensive’. Previously The Forde Report’s non-appearance was a no-go area. Letters to the G suffered rejection although I accept that editorial decision is legitimate, but the 100% rejection raises some doubt.
I have to confess and apologise that initially I had suspicions as to the integrity of the Forde team, given the delay after delay in its publication, however he does come across as genuine.
“Labour accused of still not engaging with ‘hierarchy of racism’ claims”: heading of article just appeared in G online. Going on: “Speaking to Al Jazeera, the senior lawyer said the party under its current leadership had still not fully engaged with claims that anti-black racism was not taken as seriously as antisemitism”.
Is this the first, or most important crack in the seven-year G edict re. treatment of Corbynism?
Is good Martin Forde has spoken out about the issues of concern to him. I hope he’ll continue to speak up on the matter. It’s been all too easy in the ensuing silence for Labour to ignore his report and recommendations whilst the MSM looks the other way.
The UK national newspaper most likely to be read by people who care about the same issues we do (eg fairness, honest reporting, honest democracy and progressive politics) is the “Guardian”. So it’s particularly disturbing to us all if illegitimate moderation by the “Guardian” silences the factual evidence and views we’d like to present that contradict the newspaper’s narratives.
Experience suggests individual protests about illegitimate moderation / censorship by the “Guardian” moderators aren’t likely to persuade its supervisory Board to change moderators’ guidelines.
A report from many different posters (mostly strangers to each other) giving full details of each reasonable, often evidence-based post censored MAY prompt the supervisory Board at the “Guardian” into re-evaluating its approach to moderation.
If JVL agrees to help with this project, then we can copy our own “censorship” files to JVL, authorising JVL to use our information for its own articles and to publish the articles and this data elsewhere wherever JVL sees fit. We’d be publicly identified only under our “Guardian” usernames.
We “Guardian” posters would each need to copy our own posts (the text of the post, the time and date and the article to which we’ve posted) to a file on our own computers before we post them; then we’d need to check which posts are DEFINITELY censored.
Some posts don’t appear for other reasons (eg the receiving system can’t cope with the volume of posts being written at the same time).
The next stage would be to ask the supervisory Board of the “Guardian” to review its moderation in light of the evidence within the JVL article.
Would a scheme like this win JVL’s support and that of its readers please?
Ever since I commented about how the Desmond Tutu obit in the Guardian u failed to mention his belief that Israel was practising apartheid against the Palestinians, all my comments since are “pre-monitored”. Only the most innocuous light hearted ones ever make it into the Comments . Is there a way of demanding to know why?
To all those who despair of The Guardian’s comment moderation policy, you haven’t been paying attention. It’s been going on for years! A group of disgruntled readers got so sick of it, they set up the Off-Guardian site, now an essential read for all free-thinking Socialists. Same goes for the Real Left site, too.
Try those instead!
Tim, thanks for your info about the Off-Guardian and Real Left sites. I shall enjoy visiting them.
In terms of alerting people with a general interest in democracy, good governance and progressive politics to what’s happening in the UK’s main opposition party, though, there’s NO obvious alternative to the “Guardian”. The “Independent” appears to be moribund (because of sanctions?).
There appears to be no enthusiasm here for any collective initiative to tackle the censorship practised by the “Guardian”. The experience of some individuals is of non-response to their complaints of unfair moderation.
Life’s too short to “tilt at windmills”, especially when there are so many “windmills” for us to “tilt at”.
I had intended to contribute financially to the “Guardian” and then didn’t because of what I feel strongly has been their unfair and misleading coverage of Corbyn, events in the Labour party, etc. It’s the only protest that I think is practicable for me to make. I wonder how many other potential contributors the “Guardian” has lost because they think similarly?
Interesting comments to the article.
Isn’t this exactly what Germany did in the 1930’s?…controlled the narrative!
Some years ago Angela Smith my then MP…wrote that all racism was NOT the same and that anti-semitism was the worst. That set the scene for me and I’m not surprised at what has happened since. Note Angela Smith was one of those that broke away from Labour and certainly didn’t help in the election.