The election campaign in Hammersmith is naturally dominated by local and national issues. But it is important for voters to be aware of some alarmingly extreme views of Andrew Slaughter who is seeking re-election as the Labour MP. I have already written about his bizarre praise for the regimes in Cuba and in Venezuela.

But it is his dealing with Hamas that has caused most dismay – including within his own Party. Although he has the odd ally.

The blog Harry’s Place recently included this report:

Andy Slaughter is one of Labour’s worst helpers of extremists.

So this news from the Palestinian Forum in Britain (PFB) is no surprise:

The Palestinian Forum in Britain invite to attend the social monthly meeting scheduled for Saturday evening, the 4th of April 2015.

The social gathering will host Labour MP and candidate for the Party Andy Slaughter who will speak about his political platform and the role of Palestinian and Arab communities in the British elections.

PFB invite you to attend this important gathering to support those who always condone the Palestinian rights.

Your attendance is in support of the Palestinian rights and and those who work for Palestinian rights.

The Palestinian Forum in Britain

The PFB is part of the Hamas UK network.

One way you can see this is by looking at the speakers it invites to its events.

They include no fewer than four foreigners who I understand have been excluded from the UK: Wagdi Ghoneim, Ahmad Nofal, Raed Salah, and Muhammad Musa al-Shareef. This may be an exclusion record for a single Islamist outfit.

In those speakers’ works one finds support for terrorism, including attacks on British troops on duty overseas; vicious antisemitism; calls for apostates from Islam to be killed; cruel misogyny; and more of the known horrors of Islamist extremism.

Mr Slaughter is happily courting the west London hate vote, as is his wont.

Andy Slaughter marching against Israel with Hafiz al-Karmi (to Slaughter’s right) of the PFB last summer.

The award winning blog has also chronicled Mr Slaughter’s dubious conduct in this matter previously.

Some may regard all this as irrelevant. But the extremist threat also exists closer to home. The Sunday Telegraph reported this morning on an al-Qaeda cleric suspected of radicalising “Jihadi John”.

It added:

Security services are understood to be investigating links between Hani al-Sibai and his influence on the west London terror network in which Jihadi John – unmasked as Mohammed Emwazi – operated.

It is claimed that al-Sibai, a charismatic preacher, had “captivated” a number of young Muslim men who subsequently went abroad to fight jihad.

In a court case last year, he was accused of having “provided material support to al-Qaeda and conspired to commit terrorist acts”, an allegation he denies.

Despite being officially identified as an affiliate of the notorious terror network, al-Sibai, citing his human rights, has thwarted government attempts to deport him for more than 15 years….

Bari’s son Abdel-Majed Abdel Bary, 25, a one-time rap musician in west London, subsequently travelled to Syria and is thought to be part of Jihadi John’s network inside Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil).

The rent on father-of-five al-Sibai’s home in Hammersmith – owned by a housing association and worth as much as £1 million – is understood to be paid by the taxpayer.

The public purse has also paid for a number of legal actions brought by al-Sibai against the British government in his battle to prevent his deportation to Egypt and also attempts to have his name removed from terror sanctions lists.

From his home, al-Sibai, also known as Hani Youssef, runs an effective al-Qaeda propaganda machine, that includes the al-Maqreze Centre for Historical Studies. In recent months he has used various internet sites to praise bin Laden and glorify al-Qaeda for waging war against “the Crusader-Zionists”.

He has been described as a “long-time ally” of Ayman al-Zawahiri, who took over control of al-Qaeda following bin Laden’s death.

His alleged links to al-Qaeda have led to his bank accounts and assets being subjected to freezing orders by the United Nations, the UK Treasury and US Treasury.

Last year, in a publicly funded court case, al-Sibai went to the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg to try to get his status as an al-Qaeda affiliate overturned and allow him access to bank accounts and other financial assets….
 
Al-Sibai, who trained as a lawyer, denies the links to al-Qaeda although he refused to comment when approached by The Telegraph.

When al-Sibai first claimed asylum in the UK in 1994, he told officials he had been tortured in Egypt because he had acted as a lawyer for Islamist groups and was linked to the opposition Muslim Brotherhood.

He was refused asylum on national security grounds, and was jailed in 1998 pending deportation. However, human rights laws make it impossible for suspects to be returned to countries where they might be tortured or killed, and Britain was unable to obtain from Egypt the necessary assurances as to al-Sibai’s welfare.

Al-Sibai described the 7/7 attacks in London as a ‘great victory’ for al-Qaeda

He has since been given temporary leave to remain in the UK despite being added to the UN al-Qaeda sanctions list in 2005.

Last week, residents nearby described al-Sibai as an “elusive character” who would slip in and out of his house via the back door through an alleyway at the rear of his home.

The front windows are covered in bed sheets and blankets to prevent prying eyes. He has refused to deny links to Emwazi, who was born in Kuwait but grew up in west London and was part of a terror network that was centred on an area close to where al-Sibai lives.

Emwazi, 26, fled from Britain despite being on a terror watchlist and joined jihadists fighting in Syria. He is responsible for the murder of a number of Western hostages, including two Britons, whom he beheaded in videos posted on the internet as part of the Isil’s propaganda.

Throughout his time in the UK, al-Sibai has provoked outrage with a series of extremist comments, including describing the July 7 attacks on London as a “great victory” for al-Qaeda….

Greg Hands, a Conservative minister who raised concern over al-Sibai around nine years ago, said: “It is amazing that someone with these views is still being of influence today. This highlights again the need to repeal the Human Rights Act.”

The Government has achieved a great deal but the Lib Dems have blocked repeal of the Human Rights Act. It is among the reasons that a majority Conservative Government is so vital.