Our Congratulations to the Jewish Labour Movement on the appointment of Ivor Caplin as their new Chair

Jeremy Newmark, Fraudster and Perjurer, has been succeeded by a War Criminal AND Expenses Cheat

Caplin is a worthy successor to the amateur Newmark - having trousered thousands of pounds from the tax payer and refused all requests to pay back what he considers is rightfully his

It’s not often that I find myself offering my congratulations to a Zionist organisation, especially the Jewish Labour Movement. After all, the JLM were one of the principal organisations responsible for my expulsion from the Labour Party. Reporting on Caplin’s appointment as the new Chair of the JLM the Jewish Chronicle of 29^th May 2018 noted how:

One thing you cannot accuse Caplin of is modesty, tolerance or a belief in democratic debate. One can imagine that if he were Netanyahu he would be complaining that the snipers in Gaza had only managed to kill 120 people after more than a month of trying. What kind of kill rate is that?

Not only did Caplin singlehandedly effect my expulsion (methinks he played a somewhat more minor role than he’s claiming credit for) but he wants to see the whip removed from Chris Williamson for daring to support Marc Wadsworth and myself. Caplin is a worthy son of Israel.  

How news of Caplin's appointment broke

However it would be churlish and unsporting to let my own feelings get in the way. Praise where praise is due. And praise is clearly due to the JLM on what is, by any stretch of the imagination, a magnificent appointment.

Readers will I am sure remember the sad demise of the former Chair of the JLM, Jeremy Newmark, after the Jewish Chronicle outed him for historic and it would appear not so historic fraud. I honestly didn’t believe that the JLM could possibly find someone with the qualities and calibre of a Jeremy Newmark. How wrong I was.

Newmark's frauds and thefts were covered up by the the JLC's equally dodgy trustees - fortunately all the money would have been spent on fighting the Palestinians and BDS

Newmark led a riotous life at the expense of a Zionist 'charity' - now it appears he has dined and wined off the JLM - let's hope Ivor doesn't require another house

If you remember Newmark started his meteoric political career perjuring himself at the Fraser –v- University College Union Employment Tribunal. The words of the Chair of the Tribunal, Judge Snelson, still ring in my ears:

We also reject as utterly unfounded the emotive allegation of Ms Ashworth that Mr Newmark was “Jew-baited”.  He was not baited at all. ... We regret to say that we have rejected as untrue the evidence of Ms Ashworth and Mr Newmark concerning the incident at the 2008 Congress ... Evidence given to us about booing, jeering and harassing of Jewish speakers at Congress debates was also false, as truthful witnesses on the  Claimant’s side accepted. One painfully ill-judged example of playing to the gallery was Mr Newmark’s preposterous claim... that a ‘pushy Jew’ stereotype was being applied to him.”

It would seem that despite initial hopes, Newmark plundered the JLM's coffers too - since the JLM is heavily subsidised by Gilad Erdan's anti-BDS slush fund, it was probably the best use of the money

Newmark wasn’t merely a perjurer but a major fraudster as well.  In his role as Chief Executive of the Jewish Leadership Council the Jewish Chronicle reported that ‘he deceived the organisation out of tens of thousands of pounds and misled charities about the cost of projects he worked on.’ Newmark was alleged to have:

Ø   Billed thousands of pounds of “inappropriate” personal expenses to the JLC — including holidays in Israel and VIP transport for himself, his wife and their children

Ø   Withdrawn thousands of pounds of unaccounted for cash on JLC credit and debit cards while failing to provide receipts to justify this expenditure

Ø   Leased a new BMW car worth £46,000, paid for by the JLC, to which he fixed his own personal number plate — and then attempted to have his wife insured on the vehicle

Ø   Employed his wife’s fundraising and events consultancy firm, Secure Prospects, to run a JLC-backed educational project, paying the company more than £36,000 — in spite of concern expressed by the governors of two leading Jewish schools that the project was not being properly managed

Ø   Misled communal charities, including the London Jewish Forum and Chabad, over the true cost of projects in an attempt to secure larger donations

Ø   Attempted to cover up possible financial irregularities by blocking communication between the JLC and its auditors, after staff became suspicious about his conduct.

When Jonathan Hoffman, friend of the EDL and Tommy Robinson starts defending you you know you're in difficulty

It is indeed a hard act to follow and Mike Katz, Adam Langleben and the other members of the JLM Executive, including of course its fragrant Director, Ella Rose, are to be congratulated on the appointment of Caplin. 

A flashback to just before the Iraq War - Caplin was as wrong about WMD as he is wrong about Palestine 

Ivor does not do regret - like Blair he has no intention of apologising for the million dead Iraqis je ne regrette rien

Not only was Caplin a major fraudster in his own right (being one of the major culprits in the parliamentary expenses scandal during his time as MP from 1997-2005) but he is also a Junior War Criminal, having served as a Under Secretary of State at the  Defence Ministry during the Iraq War.  In Cheating MPs still refuse to repay thousands of pounds in expenses the Evening Standard described how

‘Ivor Caplin, a former Labour defence minister, has not replied to correspondence and phone messages asking him to repay £17,865 for mortgage payments.

Letters from Sir Thomas asking him to justify the mortgage claims went unanswered, resulting in the auditor declaring that the entire claim should be refunded to the taxpayer.

Since then, Commons officials have tried to contact Mr Caplin, who stood down at the last election, without getting a response.

The former MP did not respond to messages left by the Evening Standard on his phone and at lobbying firm Foresight Consulting, which lists him as a senior consultant.

A Westminster source said: "Officials have made strenuous efforts to discuss this with him, but without success. The vast majority of MPs very quickly agreed to make repayments but there is a small handful of retiring MPs who are refusing to agree."

In the case of retiring MPs, Commons Speaker John Bercow has ruled that money owed must be deducted from their "golden goodbye" resettlement allowances, which are worth up to £64,000.

As a former MP, however, Mr Caplin is beyond their reach unless he volunteers to pay.

He is a hard act to follow but we have no doubt that Caplin will rise to the occasion

Not only can Caplin match Newmark in the fraud stakes, having bought himself a house courtesy of the public purse, but he is also an unrepentant war criminal.  In an interview with the Brighton Argus [I totally stand by what happened, says former defence minister] Caplin made it clear that he is a man of principle.  “I have no regrets” he said after the damning publication of the Chilcot report. Caplin told the Argus that ‘he stood by his decision to support the war.’ And ‘Like the Prime Minister Tony Blair he dutifully followed and acted as a government whip for, Mr Caplin also failed to apologise specifically for the decision.’  Defiant to the last, Caplin declared “I stand totally by what happened before.’

In happier days - despite remorselessly attacking him, Newmark nearly got elected to Parliament on Corbyn's coat tails, losing by 2,000 in Finchley and Hendon

It is difficult not to admire a man with such deeply held convictions.  No fly by night politician is Ivor. Whereas people like Gordon Brown now regret going into Iraq and killing a million or so people, Ivor Caplin has no such doubts.  He would do the same tomorrow if given half the chance.

Ivor Caplin seems like an excellent choice as Chair of the Jewish Labour Movement.  He is a worthy successor to Jeremy Newmark and one can only wish him well in his post.  I am sure that he is going to make the Israeli Labour Party and Benjamin Netanyahu proud.

Tony Greenstein