Heckler, 82, who dared called Straw a liar is held under terrorist law (U.K.)

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The Daily Telegraph

 

 

 

Heckler, 82, who dared called Straw a liar is held under terrorist law

By Andrew Sparrow

(Filed: 29/09/2005)

 

 

 

Labour had to apologise to an 82-year-old activist last night after he

was roughly thrown out of the party conference for heckling Jack Straw

on Iraq.

 

The leadership faced angry protests from MPs and party members who

accused it of stifling dissent and abandoning traditions of free speech.

 

The Foreign Secretary was telling the conference that Britain was in

Iraq " for one reason only " - to help the elected Iraqi government -

when Walter Wolfgang shouted: " That's a lie and you know it. "

 

Mr Wolfgang, a refugee from Nazi Germany and a Labour Party member

since 1948, was immediately surrounded by security staff in full view

of the television cameras and ejected from the hall in Brighton as

officials revoked his pass.

 

When he tried to re-enter the secure zone, he was stopped by a police

officer citing the Terrorism Act.

 

Steve Forrest, the chairman of Erith and Thamesmead Labour Party, was

also thrown out after complaining about Mr Wolfgang's treatment.

 

He said that five security guards moved close to him in an

intimidating manner after he shouted " Hear, hear " during an anti-war

speech in debate.

 

A few minutes later, as Mr Wolfgang was being escorted away, he

protested: " Leave him alone, he's an old man. " At that point he was

hauled out himself.

 

He said: " Where is the democracy in this party? It seems that the

leadership is full of paranoia. "

 

Mr Wolfgang, a vice-president of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament,

said the episode showed how intolerant the Labour Party had become.

 

" A few years ago nobody would have objected to anyone heckling like

that. " He said a Labour official had told him that the reason he was

thrown out was because he had been asked several times to be quiet and

had taken no notice.

 

But Mr Wolfgang said that was not true. He had received no warning

before being thrown out by " two toughies " .

 

He said: " When you have an international debate that does not deal

adequately with the international issues of the day, the least you can

do, if someone is talking nonsense, is say so. "

 

At first Sussex police denied that Mr Wolfgang had been detained or

searched but a spokesman later admitted that he had been issued with a

section 44 stop and search form under the Terrorism Act.

 

Mr Wolfgang said: " We have reached a situation where freedom of

expression has been threatened. I am not surprised, because the Labour

Party has been taken over by a gang of adventurers who are on their

way out. "

 

Alice Mahon, the former MP for Halifax and a prominent anti-war

campaigner, said she saw several security guards " dive " on Mr Wolfgang.

 

" 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 the

security people were really over the top. "

 

Linda Riordan, the current MP for Halifax, said: " We have had one

speaker in this debate on Iraq and we have 8,000 troops there. The

silence on Iraq at this conference is deafening, absolutely deafening. "

 

Labour later said that the way Mr Wolfgang had been treated was

" inappropriate " and that it would apologise to him. But officials

would not say if he or Mr Forrest would be allowed back in for today's

final session.