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Galloway to sue 'defamatory' NUS
Iconoclastic MP George Galloway says he will begin legal proceedings against the union, following their condemnation of his remarks on the Julian Assange case
Callum Leslie George Melhuish
Wednesday, 10 October, 2012 | 09:00
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Credit: KLN Photos

Respect MP George Galloway is preparing to take legal action against the National Union of Students, following the passage of a motion branding him a “rape denier” and adding him to the union’s ‘no platform’ list.

The NUS National Executive Committee (NEC) passed a motion last month banning Mr Galloway from NUS events, and forbidding NUS officers from sharing a platform with him, in an extension of policy, which had previously been used mainly against the British National Party and other far-right groups.

Mr Galloway has since claimed that the “rape denier” comments are defamatory, and announced that he will sue. 

Despite issuing the threat last Monday, an NUS spokesperson said the union was yet to receive any communication from Mr Galloway or his lawyers, and declined to comment until formal action was taken.

Mr Galloway failed to respond to a request for comment.

The motion came in response to remarks Galloway made about the two separate allegations of sexual assault levelled against Julian Assange, founder of Wikileaks.

During a podcast interview, Mr Galloway said: “Even taken at its worst, if the allegations made by these two women were true, 100 per cent true, and even if a camera in the room captured them, they don’t constitute rape.

“It might be really sordid and bad sexual etiquette, but whatever else it is, it is not rape or you bankrupt the term rape of all meaning.”

He went on to argue that “not everybody needs to be asked prior to each insertion.”

His comments, described by charity Rape Crisis as “offensive and deeply concerning”, prompted an immediate backlash from women’s groups and on Twitter where he repeated his claims. 

Edinburgh University Students’ Association president James McAsh said: “George Galloway should apologise immediately for his comments. It’s outrageous that a supposed left-wing politician is threatening to sue the NUS, and trying to take money from the student movement in the run up to a massive anti-austerity demonstration.”

The motion also cited MEPs Roger Helmer and Andrew Brons as having made similar comments on unrelated issues. 

In addition to suing for defamation, Mr Galloway stated on Twitter that “any damages I recover from the NUS will be donated to the Defence Fund for Julian Assange and Bradley Manning”.

He also later tweeted “A note to the NUS and NUS officers. Every defamatory tweet you sent today or caused to be sent will be included in the impending action.”

The controversy resulted in the resignation of Respect party leader Salma Yaqoob, and Kate Hudson, the Respect candidate in the Manchester Central by-election. Both were openly critical of Mr Galloway, currently the socialist party’s only MP. In her resignation statement, Ms Yaqoob said that the controversy had meant that “necessary relations of trust and collaborative working had broken down.”

Following this legal threat, an email was sent to all NUS NEC members and NUS staff asking that all motions for debate in the near future be pre-approved by NUS headquarters.

The email, seen by The Journal, says that any motion which “makes a judgement about or includes a view on an individual... an external company or organisation” should be vetted by NUS staff before being “formally published.”

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