Toby Young Corbyn Attack Idiocy

Rupe’s downmarket troops at the Super Soaraway Currant Bun have - unwisely, as it turns out - given a guest column to the loathsome Toby Young, so that he can join the jolly gang of witless bullies laying into Labour leadership candidate Jeremy Corbyn. The problem with Tobes’ effort is that it does not take very long for his piss-poor research to come undone - so, yes, no change there, then. Let’s take four examples from his article.

More grown up debate. Or maybe not

Hamas and Hezbollah: Tobes claims Corbyn “had referred to terror groups Hamas and Hezbollah as his ‘friends’”, suggesting that meeting with their representatives is symptomatic of his being “loony left”. As Corbyn’s team has pointed out, “The term ‘friends’ was used purely as diplomatic language in the context of dialogue, not an endorsement of a particular set of views … Jeremy has met many people with whom he profoundly disagrees, in order to try to promote a peace process”.

That’s as opposed to hawking your carcass round the cheaper end of the tabloid press, Tobes. What is also missing is the fact that Tony Blair met with the head of Hamas’ political bureau FOUR TIMES, and Young Dave had OK’d a visit by him to Britain. Are Blair and Cameron “loony lefties”, then, Tobes? And there’s more.

Paul Eisen: Tobes tells that “the Jewish Chronicle revealed his links with Holocaust denier Paul Eisen, a loathsome anti-Semite”. Team Corbyn again (that’s as in the Jewish Chronicle): “Jeremy believes that Mr Eisen’s position on the Holocaust is wrong and reprehensible … It is worth noting that in the early stages of DYR’s existence it attracted broad support and only later did Mr Eisen’s views on the Holocaust become apparent”.

Dyab Abou Jahjah: Tobes reminds his readers “The Sun revealed yet another link between Corbyn and an out-spoken anti-Semite, Islamist activist Dyab Abou Jahjah, who dubbed the 9/11 terror attacks ‘sweet revenge’”. That would be the same Dyab Abou Jahjah who met with William ‘Ague in 2009. Is Master ‘Ague he a “loony lefty”, Tobes?

The IRA: we come to the pièce de résistance, Tobes’ discussion of the IRA, where he tells of “his interview with BBC Radio Ulster, when he was asked repeatedly if he condemned the IRA’s bombing campaign during the Troubles”. Let’s take this nice and slowly, so Tobes can keep up. Corbyn condemned all acts of violence that took place during The Troubles, so he did indeed condemn that enacted by the IRA.

Moreover, if we’re talking dialogue with terrorists, I have to remind Tobes that one of his all-time right-wing heroes, Margaret Thatcher, might have talked the talk on not having anything to do with the IRA, but she was party to negotiations with them as early in her Premiership as 1981, during the Maze hunger strikes.

And, as the Guardian’s Nick Watt has noted, “Margaret Thatcher gave her personal approval to secret talks between government officials and the IRA leadership in 1990, setting in a train a dialogue which led to the Northern Ireland peace process which she now regularly denounces”. Was Mrs T a “loony lefty”, Tobes?

Toby Young is still supposed to be running the West London Free School. One has to hope that the teaching staff there do not follow his example when educating their pupils.