Mr Watt
The Guardian
119 Farringdon Road,
London EC1R 3ER

19th December 2003

Dear Mr Watt,

I read your report about Ms Ellman's comments concerning Dr Azzam Tamimi and feel you did not do the story justice.

Ms Louise Ellman MP happens to be Jewish and has a long record (which you can confirm in Hansards) of acting as an apologist for Israel. In a story about a Palestinian academic and his support for Palestinian groups who are resisting a brutal Israeli occupation, Ms Ellman's background should surely have merited some mention. Yet bizarrely, this was not included.

You should also have recorded her response when you asked her (and I hope you did ask her) why she had not made the allegations outside of the House of Commons where she would not enjoy parliamentary immunity.

Kind regards,

Mr Inayat Bunglawala,
Secretary,
The Muslim Council of Britain

CORRECTION - 3rd January edition of The Guardian
The published version of a report, headed Muslim backs terror, claims MP, page 8, December 12, did not make it clear that the Labour MP Louise Ellman whose Commons speech was quoted, is a member of the Labour Friends of Israel group and a campaigner against anti-semitism. It should have done.