Labour supporters tried to sack Countdown host

Rachel Riley claimed supporters of Jeremy Corbyn attempted to get her sacked from her job on Countdown after a former aide accused her of labelling the ex-Labour leader a "Nazi".

 

The 35-year-old television presenter said the wake of a social media backlash had her fearing bosses at Channel 4 would terminate her contract after Laura Murray said she was "as dangerous as she is stupid".

 

The host commented that, "Channel 4 accepted my explanation but this experience still made me feel vulnerable and worried about the security and longevity of my job," she said whilst speaking at a libel hearing at the High Court.

 

Ms Riley said she became victim of a "concerted campaign ... to get me fired from my job" by Corbyn loyalists after speaking out about anti-Semitism in the party.

 

Ms Riley is suing Ms Murray for damages following a tweet by Ms Murray that garnered 1,584 retweets, 4,883 likes and 736 comments when published by Ms Murray on March 3 2019, when the then Labour leader Mr Corbyn had an egg thrown at him by a Brexit supporter during a visit to Finsbury Park Mosque in north London.

 

Responding to the egging Ms Riley shared an old tweet by The Guardian columnist Owen Jones about an attack on Nick Griffin, the BNP leader, in which Mr Jones wrote: "I think sound life advice is, if you don't want eggs thrown at you, don't be a Nazi." Consequently Ms Riley shared Mr Jones's tweet saying it was "good advice" alongside an emoji of an egg and a red rose, commonly used on social media to represent the Labour Party.

 

Ms Murray later tweeted: "Today Jeremy Corbyn went to his local mosque for Visit My Mosque Day, and was attacked by a Brexiteer. Rachel Riley tweets that Corbyn deserves to be violently attacked because he is a Nazi. This woman is as dangerous as she is stupid. Nobody should engage with her. Ever."

 

Ms Riley claims this tweet contained "defamatory statements of fact" about her. Ms Murray denies defaming Ms Riley, arguing truth, honest opinion and responsible publication in her tweet.

 

Mr Justice Nicklin heard the opening arguments from lawyers representing the two women, in a written statement Ms Riley told the court: "I believe that I was targeted by the defendant because I had been critical of the Labour Party's handling of anti-Semitism. It was an attempt to shut me up or to stop people listening to what I was saying by telling people that I was encouraging people to commit violence against Jeremy Corbyn. A concerted campaign was initiated to get me fired from my job, as being someone who had advocated violence."

 

Ms Riley told the court she feared she would be a target for reprisals, and had received an "onslaught of abuse" as a result of which she felt the need to improve her "personal and home security. I feared that the defendant's tweet would encourage vigilantism against me," she said.

 

Ms Riley further claimed that her "good advice" tweet was sarcastic and intended to show the hypocrisy of Mr Jones and the Left's "selective support" for acts of violence against politicians.

 

 

Whitestone Solicitors

Rochdale