Two Cabinet Ministers are facing questions over their judgment after appearing at the same event as a Muslim activist who once suggested that the killing of British troops in Iraq was justified. Azad Ali spoke at yesterday's Progressive London conference, which was also attended by Equalities Minister Harriet Harman and Energy Secretary Ed Miliband. Mr Ali, a Treasury civil servant, was suspended from his job last year after The Mail on Sunday revealed a series of controversial comments on his personal website, including one in which he praised Abdullah Azzam, Osama Bin Laden's mentor.He described the late Azzam as one of the ‘few Muslims who promote the understanding of the term Jihad in its comprehensive glory'. He then quoted Azzam's son as saying: ‘If I saw an American or British man wearing a soldier's uniform inside Iraq I would kill him because that is my obligation. If I saw the same soldier in Jordan I wouldn't touch him. In Iraq he is a fighter and an occupier – here he is not. I respect this as the main instruction in my religion for Jihad.'
Last week, Mr Ali lost an attempt to sue The Mail on Sunday over its article, which was published in January last year. Mr Justice Eady said Mr Ali ‘was indeed . . . taking the position that the killing of American and British troops in Iraq would be justified'. The judge added that Mr Ali's case was bound to fail and had about it ‘an absence of reality'. But at yesterday's conference, organised by former London Mayor Ken Livingstone, Mr Ali defended Hamas and Hezbollah, which have been condemned by some Western countries as terrorist organisations.
Mr Ali took part in an event called There Is No Progressive Imperialism, during which the panel was asked by a Lebanese man to comment on Hezbollah, which he accused of ‘actively stopping the progress of [Lebanon]'. Mr Ali responded: ‘If you ask the people of Lebanon, Hamas are known as people who build. Hamas provide an unbelievable amount of social services, as do Hezbollah, medical services and everything. These are the things that people are fighting – this is the imperial mindset, the colonial mindset.' Later, Mrs Harman spoke about a ‘progressive agenda to stop the Right in 2010'. Meanwhile, Mr Miliband spoke about tackling climate change on the platform vacated by Mr Ali.
Last night Tory MP Philip Davies said: ‘The Labour Party relies on Muslim votes and it is pretty obvious that these Ministers are trying to ingratiate themselves with Labour Party members before a General Election. If you are a member of the Cabinet you should be more careful about who you deal with and put the interests of the country before narrow political interests.' Haras Rafiq, a moderate Muslim and director of counter-terrorism think-tank Centri, said: ‘It is crazy that we have Secretaries of State at the same event as someone who is praising Hamas. It gives people who support terrorist organisations credibility and legitimacy.'
A spokeswoman for Ed Miliband said: ‘Ed Miliband is invited to speak on climate change at a number of different events and is happy to do so.' She added that Azad Ali spoke at a ‘completely separate event'. A spokesperson for Mrs Harman said: ‘Harriet did not share a platform with Mr Ali. You should speak to the organisers of the event about who they have invited.'