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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Labour expels Trotskyist activist Gerry Downing | Labour expels Trotskyist activist Gerry Downing |
| (about 7 hours later) | |
| Labour has expelled a far left activist whose views on 9/11 and so-called Islamic State have been criticised. | Labour has expelled a far left activist whose views on 9/11 and so-called Islamic State have been criticised. |
| The party's ruling NEC said it had excluded Gerry Downing after "further evidence" had come to light about him. | The party's ruling NEC said it had excluded Gerry Downing after "further evidence" had come to light about him. |
| Jeremy Corbyn had come under pressure to act after David Cameron raised the issue at Prime Minister's Questions. | Jeremy Corbyn had come under pressure to act after David Cameron raised the issue at Prime Minister's Questions. |
| The PM quoted a blog by Mr Downing, which said the 9/11 hijackers "must never be condemned". Mr Downing said he had been quoted out of context. | |
| He insisted he had been explaining the motivation of the 9/11 attackers, "not agreeing with what they were doing", adding: "I don't support the politics of Isis, they are vile barbarians. But I don't support American imperialist bombing either." | |
| Mr Downing, a former bus driver and member of the tiny Socialist Fight group, says on Twitter his ambition is "to end capitalism on the planet by socialist revolution". | Mr Downing, a former bus driver and member of the tiny Socialist Fight group, says on Twitter his ambition is "to end capitalism on the planet by socialist revolution". |
| He was expelled by the Labour Party last August over views expressed on his Twitter feed and blog but was re-instated in November after an appeal. | He was expelled by the Labour Party last August over views expressed on his Twitter feed and blog but was re-instated in November after an appeal. |
| Before his expulsion was announced, he told BBC News he felt there was a place for Trotskyists like himself in the Labour Party and he hoped Mr Corbyn would reject calls by Mr Cameron - during PMQs - and Labour MP John Woodcock to eject him from the party. | Before his expulsion was announced, he told BBC News he felt there was a place for Trotskyists like himself in the Labour Party and he hoped Mr Corbyn would reject calls by Mr Cameron - during PMQs - and Labour MP John Woodcock to eject him from the party. |
| In an open letter to Mr Corbyn, Mr Woodcock, a longstanding critic of the Labour leader, says Mr Downing and his group's views were "sickening and bring our party into disrepute". | In an open letter to Mr Corbyn, Mr Woodcock, a longstanding critic of the Labour leader, says Mr Downing and his group's views were "sickening and bring our party into disrepute". |
| In a statement of its aims on its website, Socialist Fight says: "We defend the 'Islamic State' in Syria and Iraq against the bombing of US imperialism but do not ally with them against the Kurdish defenders of Kobane and Rojava (Western Kurdistan). We support the Kurdish nation's right to self-determination and to their own nation state, even though they are scattered over four other nations now. | In a statement of its aims on its website, Socialist Fight says: "We defend the 'Islamic State' in Syria and Iraq against the bombing of US imperialism but do not ally with them against the Kurdish defenders of Kobane and Rojava (Western Kurdistan). We support the Kurdish nation's right to self-determination and to their own nation state, even though they are scattered over four other nations now. |
| "The Islamic State is a reactionary utopia and has no legitimate right to self-determination. We do not object if the Kurds take advantage of airstrikes against Isis to defend their own territory in a process of nation-building but we reject any strategic alliance with US-friendly forces on the ground, like the Free Syrian Army. The Kurds have every right to accept arms from [Syrian president Bashar] Assad." | "The Islamic State is a reactionary utopia and has no legitimate right to self-determination. We do not object if the Kurds take advantage of airstrikes against Isis to defend their own territory in a process of nation-building but we reject any strategic alliance with US-friendly forces on the ground, like the Free Syrian Army. The Kurds have every right to accept arms from [Syrian president Bashar] Assad." |