WSC6 - Mad Mel Philips Delivers!

I'll cover the conference in more detail later.

The East - West Institute gathers knowlegeable speakers and leading experts in the field to discuss global security and combatting extremism. However, this year they also had Mad Mel as a guest speaker on a panel entitled "The Media and terrorism".

Mels insights included the unsupported allegation that the UK media has been intimidated by radical islam that they "are marching in lockstep with radical extremists" and "puts on television people like Hamas and presents them as moderates".

During the Gaza conflict "The media adopted wholesale the Hamas narrative and broadcast Hamas propaganda as if it were true". She also said that journalists in Gaza "had a gun put to their heads by Hamas and told to report the Hamas propaganda or they would be killed".

Mel has never been to Gaza.

Mel came out with this stuff in a room full of experts on terrorism, including a great many who have extensive experience in Gaza. People just chuckled politely and pointed their questions elsewhere.

Her remarks were not just ignorant and wrong, we're all used to that, but in this case they were a clear insult to the many reporters who work hard to inform the world of what is happening in the world and who are dying and being wounded in ever increasing numbers. It is an insult to the memory of so many journalists who have fallen that this ignorant woman should be chosen as a speaker by the East - West Institute over someone actually qualified or knowedgeable. Shame on you.

As I said to the chairman "Anyone can sit in London and have strong opinions, but we need people here with strong experience. We should send her to Gaza because she's clearly never been there".

"Exactly", he replied.