Baroness Tonge

The Lib Dem Health spokeswoman in the House of Lords, Baroness Tonge, has been sacked by Nick Clegg for suggesting that  the Israeli Army has been accused of trafficking in organs from bodies in Haiti and that the Israeli authorities should investigate to refute the allegations. Whether the allegation is true or not I have no idea, but it needs investigating if only to reassure that it is groundless. Lady Tonge was right to raise the issue. Although she is a known supporter of the Palestinian cause (for which she is to be admired) it is no more anti-Jewish to refer to these issues than it is anti-British to call for investigations into torture complicity by MI5.

I had thought that Nick Clegg was doing rather well. Well he has just blown a lot of chips. It is a very bad thing when in a free democracy politicians are sacked for raising uncomfortable issues or supporting minorities. It is also very un- liberal. This is a serious mistake which diminishes Clegg’s leadership rating. The trouble with all the parties at the moment is that none has a decent leader, but the more Cameron and Clegg fumble the better it is for Gordon.