Ian Austin

Dudley. independent Peer. Ex-Labour MP. UK Trade Envoy to Israel. Villa season-ticket. Cyclist. Clowns to the left, jokers to the right. Pronouns: Claret & Blue

[Ian Austin @LordIanAustin]

Up the Villa!

[Ian Austin @LordIanAustin]

Whatever you think of Reform’s plans, it is utterly stupid to repeatedly compare them to Nazi concentration camps.

I’ve been to Auschwitz several times and to Treblinka where my dad’s mum and sisters were murdered. They were sites of industrial murder. Millions of Jewish people murdered because they were Jews.

His comparison minimises the reality of the Holocaust, history’s greatest crime and should not be made by anyone, least of all a member of the Lords and a university professor.

[Marlon Solomon @supergutman]

Fanatics, extremists, antisemites.

[Nicole Lampert @nicolelampert]

Two years ago, an Edinburgh venue called Banshee Labyrinth decided, a few days before Fringe, to cancel the comedy act Philip Simon.

His crime was being Jewish.

Today Philip Simon has won his case against the venue which admitted it cancelled his performances during last year’s festival due to racial or religious and belief discrimination.

One reason cited by the venue was his attendance at a vigil held in memory of those murdered and in solidarity with the innocent civilians taken hostage during the Hamas terror attacks in Israel on October 7th 2023.

The venue accused Mr Simon of sharing “rhetoric and symbology” linked to Israel and said it had pulled the shows due to staff safety concerns. This was despite his apolitical, comedy show, Shall I Compere Thee in a Funny Way?, making no reference to the war in Gaza or Israel.

Before the court action was raised, the venue’s owner Morrison Bro’s Ltd refused to issue an apology to Mr Simon and has since refused to instruct its staff to undergo antisemitism training following last year’s incident.

Mr Simon was forced to take legal action and bring a discrimination case in Edinburgh Sheriff Court that the venue had discriminated against him on the basis of race, religion or belief.

The venue initially defended the case but, in court, the company today admitted it had unlawfully discriminated against Mr Simon in breach of the Equality Act 2010. The amount of damages to be awarded will be decided by the court at a later date.

In a statement issued following the case, Mr Simon said: “I’m pleased Banshee Labyrinth has eventually admitted they discriminated against me and that this draws a line under part of a stressful ordeal that I’ve endured for over a year now.

“It is a shame that Banshee Labyrinth decided to let this run all the way to just before the court hearing, rather than accepting any of our previous settlement offers that included an apology, antisemitism training and making a contribution to an antisemitism charity. For them to have defended the case for months, only to admit they discriminated at the very last minute, has made the whole situation even more upsetting.

“For me this has never been about money. It has been about fighting against the idea that a performer can be cancelled because of their religion. It is about speaking up about how it is deemed acceptable to treat Jewish comedians and artists in a way that wouldn’t be tolerated if it was any other race or religion.

“I have had some incredible support from many within the industry, but this has been a tough year with an impact that has been felt well beyond the Edinburgh circuit. For now I am pleased to just be able to enjoy the rest of this year’s run.”

[Jake Wallis Simons @JakeWSimons]

As @HillelNeuer explains:

[Ian Austin @LordIanAustin]

Boycott this.

[Hen Mazzig @HenMazzig]

Israeli researchers have made another medical breakthrough.

Researchers at Tel Aviv University have developed a blood test that can diagnose lung cancer with over 90% accuracy.

Right now, lung cancer is diagnosed with detailed imaging, physical exams, and tissue samples, usually only after symptoms appear.

The test the Israelis made, which is extremely low cost, finds the diagnosis in a mere 2-3 days with no invasive procedures while the disease is at its most easily treatable (but harder to detect) stage.

[Ian Austin @LordIanAustin]

Who would have thought a cult made up of hard left cranks would be collapsing in such disarray?

[NaomiFromKent @NaomiFromKent]

WHY WE ARE RESIGNING FROM THE CEC OF YOUR PARTY - A LETTER WE NEVER WANTED TO HAVE TO WRITE.
After five frustrating and often distressing months attempting to serve as elected representatives for our regions, @solma_ahmed, @Soph__wilson and I have submitted our resignations.

[Ian Austin @LordIanAustin]

Agree with this.
I thought we were really good last night, especially without a full strength side.
Lots of positives.
Gomes and Hemmings were superb, Madjo missed a couple but is only 17, was not unsettled at all to be playing his first proper game against PSG and is going to be great. Maatson and Buendia had good games too.
Alysson looked good when he came on.
Looking forward to the season!
#UTV
#AVFC

[Ty Bracey @TyBracey]

Don’t remember ever feeling this positive after a loss.

So many positives to take and some really good individual performances.

Now the Super Cup is over it’s time to focus on the Premier League and the rest of the transfer window.

Exciting times ahead!

#AVFC

[Ian Austin @LordIanAustin]

Read this to see how the UK-Israel defence and security partnership keeps people in the UK safe.

The director of MI5 thanked the Israelis and told them, “You have disrupted a huge quantity of terror activity inside the UK.”

https://t.co/JNizKKS5rX

[Ian Austin @LordIanAustin]

Disgusting.
What is going on in our country?

[Cllr Elliot Keck @ElliotKeck]

As councillor for Hyde Park, I'm always interested in checking out new businesses in my patch.

Imagine my disgust upon going into this new Arabic bookstore on the Edgware Road last night only to find them selling multiple copies of Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler, apparently published themselves.

I rarely wish ill on a new business, but I hope this one fails, and fails quickly.

What does it say about integration that this bookshop believes this will be a popular book? What does it say about antisemitism within this community? Remember this is just minutes away from West Central London Synagogue.

@NJ_Timothy
@SabriSun_Miller
@JewishChron
@JewishNewsUK
@CST_UK
@BoardofDeputies
@JLC_uk

[Oliver Kamm @OliverKamm]

I’ve contributed to the debate on the former neo-Nazi & criminal Joshua Bonehill-Paine (@CrewkerneMan) and his wish to be a Tory council candidate. Let me explain why I find his pleas for clemency contemptible & @Conservatives’ embrace of him outrageous. https://t.co/GNhQaMlzVH

[Ian Austin @LordIanAustin]

My kids liked Harry Potter but this is utterly, utterly ridiculous.
No wonder nothing can get built in this country.
Tell the stupid fools to grow up. https://t.co/GKVUUUnriH

[Ian Austin @LordIanAustin]

⬇️⬇️⬇️ Why we win so much ⬇️⬇️⬇️

[Villa MrM @AVFCMarkM]

🚨 Tielemans actual quote:

Speaking on the Belgian football podcast De Rode Duivels Tafel, Youri Tielemans said:

“I enjoy training at Manchester United, but honestly, it is a little easier. Carrick keeps the sessions simple - you do the drill, you understand it, you move on. It’s not too complicated.”

“At Aston Villa with Emery, it is completely different. The intensity is crazy. Every movement, every pass, every detail has a reason. For me, he is the best coach in the Premier League, but you definitely feel it in your legs afterwards.”

[Alan Shatter @Alan__Shatter]

As Boy George’s song is being censored by part of the music industry & many broadcasters I am daily reposting it throughout this week. Truth telling & counteracting lies & distortion clearly upsets the anti Israel cultists.

[Ian Austin @LordIanAustin]

@LouiseMensch @nashienet @OliverKamm @CrewkerneMan How many lectures? How many schools?
With which organisations?
No one I know who works full-time on antisemitism is aware of any of it.

[Ian Austin @LordIanAustin]

@LouiseMensch @nashienet @OliverKamm @CrewkerneMan He’s been out of prison for years but didn’t try to meet Jewish communal organisations until this week. That’s my point.

[Ian Austin @LordIanAustin]

@LouiseMensch @nashienet @OliverKamm @CrewkerneMan My point is that he didn’t try to do this quietly and privately at any point since being released, but just this week in response to all the furore.

[Ian Austin @LordIanAustin]

I missed that one from this week in response to all the controversy, but it is interesting that he has not written to her, tried to address a proper apology to her or offered to meet Jewish communal groups even privately at any point since he was released from prison until this week when all this blew up.

[Ian Austin @LordIanAustin]

He uses the word "regret" which I think is different.
His behaviour is not exactly a Profumo-style attempt to work away quietly and privately to deal with a deep sense of shame.
I've also asked leading researchers and campaigners on antisemitism if they had ever heard of his work in this field and they had not.
Perhaps leading experts who work on antisemitism full-time and advise governments and police forces, politicians and universities about it were just unaware of his huge contribution to work in this field, but it would be interesting to see his claims subjected to the same level of scrutiny as, say, Professor Aday's, for example.