Disgrace At Labour Party Conference

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Ardross

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Tony Blair's party is becoming more and more intolerant . It is like the Soviet communist part .

This is an absolute disgrace . Dissent will not be allowed . No debate on Iraq allowed . A Prime Minister who identifies the presumption of innocence as a problem :angy: :angy: :angy: .

Disgraceful - yet no alternative ?

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Complaint over heckler treatment

Security staff tackle hecklers during Mr Straw's speech
Labour conference organisers are facing complaints they were too heavy handed in throwing out an 82-year-old heckler.
Walter Wolfgang, from London, was ejected from the hall after shouting "nonsense" as Foreign Secretary Jack Straw defended Iraq policy.

Delegate Carol Hayton protested during a later debate that Mr Wolfgang had been "manhandled".

She was told conference organisers were investigating the incident and would report on Thursday.

A man sitting next to Mr Wolfgang was also thrown out after complaining about his treatment.

A Labour Party spokesman said: "Following a disturbance in the visitors' balcony, two people were escorted out, having been asked three times to be quiet."

Debate blocked

Ms Hayton told Sir Jeremy Beecham, who was chairing the session: "We are very concerned about the way in which a gentleman of over 80 was manhandled from the balcony.

"Perhaps more appropriate action could have been taken, but this was an 80-year-old gentleman and I am sure that Jack Straw, a politician of great experience, is able to deal with events of this kind without that kind of response from our stewards."

Labour MP Linda Riordan branded the treatment "very heavy-handed".

The Halifax MP's attempt to have Iraq debated at the conference was earlier blocked.

Mr Wolfgang shouted out as Mr Straw told delegates: "We are in Iraq for one reason only to help the elected Iraqi government build a secure, democratic and stable nation."

The party member of 57 years' standing told the BBC 2's Daily Conference Live programme: "These two toughies came round and wanted to manhandle me out.

"I said: 'Do you want me to leave? I will leave, you don't need to manhandle me.' Physically, I am not too well, so I said I would follow them.

"Most of the Labour Party stewards are very nice people. One or two people lend themselves to this nonsense.

"It makes me feel that the people who resort to these tactics are very unsure of themselves and they are on the losing side."
 
Originally posted by Ardross@Sep 28 2005, 05:51 PM
Tony Blair's party is becoming more and more intolerant . It is like the Soviet communist part .
Click to expand...
Damn Lefties :ph34r:
 
That would be the torment for those Labour party members that still had a degree of conscience. Sending them to Yorkshire would be an escape not a prison
 
A specialist in Soviet law told me that the Soviet Union was the home of the ASBO . They had laws to deal with people who acted in an anti social manner first
 
I've only just seen this on TV and was disgusted. Did I hear correctly that he was then arrested under anti terrorism laws? Bloody idiots.

On another note, just how tacky was Cherie's I love TB badge?
 
at Labour's conference has been attacked as "mad and over the top" after an MP's camera was seized and pictures deleted.
Great Grimsby MP Austin Mitchell is furious at what he believes is the unnecessarily tough security at the Brighton conference centre.

He was approached by stewards as he took pictures of delegates queuing to pick up their passes.

The incident comes after an elderly heckler was removed from the hall.

'Carte Blanche'

Mr Mitchell, a keen amateur photographer, was taking photographs of the queues when stewards demanded to know what he was doing.

He said: "The police were called over and asked if they could look at my pictures. I said of course they could but I did not want the pictures deleted.

"I kept repeating that I did not want the shots deleted and the police officer said it was alright because he didn't know how to use the camera.

"After he handed it back to me I found he had deleted every picture. This is security gone mad. And what's the point."

"The party has given the security staff absolute carte blanche and they have gone mad. It's completely over the top."

Ejected

The latest incident came on the day serious complaints were made over the heavy-handed way an elderly heckler was bundled out of the conference hall after accusing Foreign Secretary Jack Straw of lying over Iraq.

Walter Wolfgang, who is in his 80s, was grabbed by two security officers and removed from the main hall.

Another man who then attempted to complain about the treatment was also lifted from his feet and ejected.

"They claim it is all about security, but it is really to cover up the chaos and shambles the security is causing," said Mr Mitchell.

The security officers' behaviour was condemned as "very heavy-handed" by Labour MP Linda Riordan, whose own attempt to have Iraq debated was blocked by conference organisers.

Ejected

And a protest about the incident was raised on the conference floor by Mole Valley delegate Carol Hayton, who told session chairman Sir Jeremy Beecham: "We are very concerned about the way in which a gentleman of over 80 was manhandled from the balcony.

"Perhaps more appropriate action could have been taken, but this was an 80-year-old gentleman and I am sure that Jack Straw, a politician of great experience, is able to deal with events of this kind without that kind of response from our stewards."

Sir Jeremy said that Labour's Conference Arrangements Committee was looking into the incident and would report back on Wednesday.

Ms Riordan was sitting just a few rows in front of the ejected man when he began shouting.

"He was immediately surrounded by three or four stewards and physically lifted off his feet and bundled out of a side door," she said.

"The treatment was very heavy-handed. It was over the top. "It was tactless and unnecessary.

'Lie'

The Foreign Secretary is perfectly capable, given his experience, of dealing with hecklers."

Ms Riordan's predecessor as Halifax MP, the prominent anti-war campaigner Alice Mahon, also witnessed the incident.

She said: "We were listening to Jack talking about Iraq. This gentleman shouted `That's rubbish, that's a lie'.

"Two or three of the security people dived on him. This other chap a couple of rows in front turned round and said `You must be joking', because this was simple political heckling. He wasn't threatening anybody.

"He got manhandled out as well. I think they were really over the top."

A Labour Party spokesman said: "Following a disturbance in the visitors' balcony, two people were escorted out, having been asked three times to be quiet."

There were similar incidents last year, with one pro-hunting demonstrator removed from the hall when he attempted to heckle Tony Blair during his speech
 
The Labour Party is to apologise to an 82-year-old member who was thrown out of its annual conference for heckling.
Walter Wolfgang, from London, was ejected from the hall after shouting "nonsense" as Foreign Secretary Jack Straw defended Iraq policy.

Police later used powers under the Terrorism Act to prevent Mr Wolfgang's re-entry, but he was not arrested.

Delegate Carol Hayton protested during a later debate that Mr Wolfgang had been "manhandled".

Mr Wolfgang, who escaped Nazi Germany in 1937, is a member of the Stop the War Coalition.

Erith and Thamesmead constituency party chairman Steve Forrest, who was sitting next to Mr Wolfgang, was also thrown out after complaining about his treatment.

'Heavy-handed'

The Labour Party later said the way Mr Wolfgang was treated was "inappropriate".

"The Labour Party reserves its rights to remove from the conference site people who cause a persistent disturbance," a party spokesman said.

"However it is clear from TV footage that the way in which Mr Wolfgang was removed was inappropriate and the Labour Party will apologise to Mr Wolfgang for this."


It is a striking example of how if you give the State excesive powers they will misuse them - using the Terrorism Act ! it shows how we are descending towards a police state.
 
Utterly hilarious scenes of incompetence and control freakery gone mad. The central command can squeal all they like about 'over-zealous stewards' or any other such nonsense but this is the consequence of a spin obsessed machine.

No wonder people (including myself) are prepared to overlook George Galloway's obvious faults because at least he speaks his mind.
 
Agree Ardross - it's the willingness of the police to (mis)use powers given to them to help fight terrorism in this case that's most sinister. Truly bizarre.
 
Tony Blair looks great primer minister
He is the kind of left side politician I like.


What do you want him to do that he is not doing now?

Have a look of what Germany has had in the last 8 years or what we have in Spain and compare it to Blair.
 
The pictures on the news this morning are disgraceful. So it is ok to interrupt to applaud and fawn over these people but not to disagree? What a damning indictment of the Labour party.
 
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