‘It put my family at great risk and under huge mental anguish’

CROYDON COMMENTARY: Croydon councillor MARK ADDERLEY, and his wife Nadia Sawalha, have won some vindication with the apology and legal settlement from the publishers of the Mail and Metro. Here, he explains how his support for Palestine was deliberately twisted in an effort to undermine him and his family

Being characterised as antisemitic or racist is beyond appalling, but sadly isn’t anything new when it comes to the now routine act of mischaracterising advocacy for Palestine or criticism of the Israeli regime as antisemitic.

I do, however, believe that the vast majority of rational-thinking people can now see through this deeply flawed and overused conflation; a conflation that actually cheapens the true scourge of antisemitism.

But… to be accused of supporting terrorism is possibly one of the worst things a person can be accused of. The fact that the Daily Mail and other publications felt it could do this without consequence was quite mind-boggling. It put me and my family at great personal risk and under huge mental and emotional anguish.

However, I am firmly of the belief that the legacy media felt they could “get away” with making such outlandish, defamatory and damaging accusations as a direct consequence of the reckless behaviour of countless members of the Labour Party.

When you consider that I was targeted by my very own MP, Steve Reed (an op-ed in the Daily Mail and comments in other right-wing publications), the chair of the Labour Party Anna Turley and even the leader of the Labour group at Croydon Council, Stuart King, its not a huge stretch to think this could have been a coordinated and orchestrated effort to destroy me, and by extension the local Green Party, reputationally, professionally and politically.

This important win against the Daily Mail is hopefully the first of many more to come.

Mark Adderley is a film and TV director and producer. He was elected as a councillor for Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood ward in May, and currently sits at the Town Hall as an independent

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