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Oxford Labour admits anti-IWCA allegations were ‘incorrect and without foundation’

4 January 2006

Deputy Leader issues apology and pays £15,000 damages

London solicitors Carter Ruck today presented the IWCA with a cheque for £15,000 from the Oxford Labour Party for defamatory statements made about the organisation.

Solicitors acting on behalf of the Labour Party issued an apology stating that Oxford Labour’s deputy leader Bill Baker ‘wrongly alleged that the Independent Working Class Association has links to extremist anarchist groups and violent Irish nationalist groups, and that the organisation has tried to hide those links behind legitimate political activity.’ The apology also admits that Cllr Baker ‘wrongly suggested that the website www.redaction.org is connected to the IWCA.’

The statement continues, ’the Oxford City Labour Party and Bill Baker accept that these statements are incorrect and without foundation and would like to apologise to Stuart Craft, Claire Kent and Lee Cole, the Oxford Councillors for the IWCA, for the distress and embarrassment which the article has caused.’

An undertaking was also made not to repeat the allegations in future.

Stuart Craft, leader of the IWCA group on Oxford City Council said, ‘From the beginning we have not been afraid of criticising New Labour’s conduct and policies, particularly where these affect the working class areas of Oxford. However, the Labour Party has consistently refused to engage in political arguments, choosing instead to attack us with lazy and damaging smears.

‘At the start of the year, a Labour newsletter even claimed the IWCA had lied about Labour “dirty tricks”.

‘We have finally been vindicated now that the Oxford City Labour Party and its deputy leader have apologised for the false statements made about us.’

Councillor Lee Cole added, ‘I have heard all sorts of rumours going around about the IWCA but I hope that now we have successfully challenged one important source of black propaganda people will start to ask what really lies behind all these utterly groundless smears. Our message to anyone that is prepared to repeat them is that if they seriously believe there is any truth to these rumours they should put up or shut up.

‘When it comes to election time voters are not served by such antics. Instead it’s in the public interest that political campaigns focus on local issues and on each party’s record rather than spurious claims that can’t be backed up.’

The £15,000 damages will go the Independent Working Class Association and will be used for future political campaigns to promote and defend working class interests.

According to Stuart Craft, ‘The libel action was never about money. In fact when we first discovered that Bill Baker had issued defamatory statements about us we gave him the opportunity to issue an apology without seeking any damages.

‘However, Bill Baker failed to respond at all to the initial letter. As a result, untrue allegations about the IWCA have been allowed to circulate for the last seven months, during which time there has been a general election, county council elections and two city council by-elections.’

IWCA councillor for Wood Farm, Claire Kent, said ‘For months now councillors, other members of the IWCA, and our families have had to worry about being targets of far right groups as a result of these false statements. If Bill Baker and the Oxford Labour Party had been prepared to settle the matter in a timely fashion then not only would they have saved themselves a lot of money but we would not have had to put up with the considerable stress these allegations have placed us under.’

The IWCA, made up of ordinary working class people and with no rich backers, has very limited funds. ‘Compared to the main political parties with millions in their accounts we are very much punching above our weight,’ explained Cllr Craft. ‘£15,000 hardly evens things up but it will help us to campaign more effectively against these parties, which are all virtually indistinguishable in their opposition to working class interests.

‘In particular it will allow Oxford IWCA to keep the Fight Against Council Transfers and Sell-offs (FACTS) campaign going.’

It was the FACTS newsletter, delivered to council homes across the city including the Boundary Brook estate, that prompted Bill Baker’s defamatory attack on the IWCA.

The FACTS campaign was started by the IWCA to provide more information to council tenants during the stock options appraisal-the process for deciding whether or not to transfer council housing into private hands or place it under the control of an arms length management association (ALMO).

While the City Council announced earlier this year that it would be retaining control of its council housing stock the decision could still be reversed if the council has any financial difficulties. There is still considerable pressure on local authorities from the New Labour government for all local authorities to privatise or part-privatise their housing stock.