[Click
for index to verbatim trial
transcripts]  Friday, January 21, 2000
Historian accused of
right-wing extremism By TIM JONES  DAVID
IRVING, the historian, was accused yesterday of being a
right-wing extremist who made statements deliberately
designed to feed virulent anti-Semitism still prevalent in
the world.
During highly charged exchanges in the High Court,
Richard Rampton, QC, accused Mr Irving of being a
holocaust denier who based statements on the flimsiest
evidence. Mr Irving is suing Deborah Lipstadt an American
academic, and Penguin Books for claiming in her book Denying
the Holocaust: the growing assault on truth and memory that
he is a "Hitler partisan" who has twisted history. Wounded by Mr Rampton's allegation, Mr Irving, conducting
his own case, accused him of playing to the press by making
slurs. Ignoring Mr Irving's protest that the allegation was
serious, Mr Rampton continued: "Our case against you is that
you consort with deeply anti-Semitic people." Mr Irving, he said, had dignified himself as an historian
who had lent his considerable weight to making statements
denying that the Holocaust had taken place. "He has done
so," he said, "because of his sympathies and attitudes. He
is a right-wing extremist." The hearing continues.
Blair's
pledge on Holocaust denial law abandoned By Philip Johnston, Home Affairs Editor PLANS to make denial of the Holocaust a
criminal offence have been dropped by the Government less
than a week before ministers are due to announce a British
memorial day for victims of the Nazis. A Holocaust denial law was supported by Tony Blair
before the general election. He said there was "a very
strong case'' for such a measure. But Mike O'Brien, the Home Office minister, told
MPs in a written Commons answer yesterday that legislation
could not easily "strike a balance between outlawing such
offensive statements while ensuring that freedom of speech
is not unduly restricted". He added: "Therefore, while the Government are following
carefully the current debates on this issue within the
Jewish community and elsewhere, we have no immediate plan to
introduce legislation." Holocaust denial is an offence in several European
countries, including Germany, Austria and Lithuania. In Germany two months ago, a historian, Frederick
Toben -- who claimed that Auschwitz prisoners enjoyed
cinemas, a swimming pool and brothels -- was sentenced to 10
months in jail. Last year, Gary Lauck, an American, was released
after serving three years of a four-year sentence for
distributing anti-Holocaust material in Germany. During his current High Court libel action, the historian
David Irving has said that he was fined "a
substantial amount" by German authorities in 1992 for
breaking Holocaust denial laws. In Britain, legislation is based on the 1986 Public Order
Act, which makes incitement to racial hatred an offence. But Jewish groups say that the law has proved ineffective
and there have been very few prosecutions. While material
denying the Holocaust may be offensive and untruthful,
prosecutors say it is difficult to define incitement. But while Jewish organisations were disappointed with the
Government's decision, they expect ministers next week to
confirm plans for an annual Holocaust memorial day on Jan
27. The formal announcement will be made by Robin
Cook, the Foreign Secretary, at a 40-nation Holocaust
conference in Sweden next week. Jan 27 is the anniversary of the
liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in
1945. It is already marked in Germany and Sweden and is
established as the European Union genocide remembrance
day. The Government says that it will provide a national mark
of respect for all victims of Nazi persecution and represent
a continuing commitment to oppose racism anti-semitism and
genocide.
 Marie
Woolf, Political Correspondent writes: The disbanded All
Parliamentary War Crimes Group was yesterday reconvened for
the first time in three years to press for the investigation
of suspected Nazi war criminals in Britain.
The emergency measure was taken after recent revelations
about several cases, and Lord Janner, honorary
secretary, said Britain risked becoming a "retirement home"
for alleged war criminals who lived without fear of
prosecution. The group agreed to ask Jack Straw, the Home Secretary,
to call on the police to reopen several suspects' files and
take steps to strip them of their British
nationality. | 
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