Signs of the times

Decent arrested by the indecent.

British diplomat arrested over 'anti-Semitic' rant
Philippe Naughton, Times Online

Allegations that a senior British diplomat launched into an anti-Semitic rant in a London gym while watching TV footage from Gaza will not upset the "treadmill of diplomacy", the Israeli Ambassador to London said today.

In a curiously tongue-in-cheek response to a case that has provoked concern within the Jewish community in Britain, Ron Prosor added that the tirade did not reflect "the health and fitness of our relations".

The diplomat, 47-year-old Rowan Laxton, allegedly shouted "f***ing Israelis, f***ing Jews" while watching television reports of the Israeli attack on Gaza last month.

He is also alleged to have said that Israeli soldiers should be "wiped off the face of the Earth" during the rant at the London Business School gym near Regents Park on January 27. The tirade reportedly continued even after other gym users asked him to stop.

After a complaint from a member of the public, Mr Laxton was arrested for inciting religious hatred - which can carry a seven-year prison term - and bailed to reappear at a central London police station at the end of March.

In the meantime, he continues to work as usual as head of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's South Asian group, in charge of UK diplomatic policy in the region. In that job he would be expected directly to brief the Foreign Secretary David Miliband, who is himself Jewish.

The FCO refused to comment on the case while police inquiries are continuing, but Mr Prosor released a statement to The Times this afternoon in which he made it clear that Israel would let the Foreign Office deal with the problem as it saw fit.

He said: "The treadmill of diplomacy between our countries continues to run smoothly. The abusive tirade of this one individual should not be seen as a reflection of the health and fitness of our relations.

"From the nature of our work with the British Foreign Office, we understand that the unacceptable outburst expressed by a British diplomat does not reflect the official policy of the United Kingdom and we have been informed that an internal investigation is currently taking place.

"If the investigation concludes that the incident actually occurred, appropriate action will be taken [by the Foreign Office]."

Mr Prosor's sanguine response appears to be at odds with that of the Jewish community in Britain. Mark Gardner, deputy director of the Community Security Trust which monitors anti-Semitism, said: "There were an unprecedented number of anti-Semitic incidents during the Gaza conflict.

"This alleged case is particularly shocking, given the position held by the civil servant in question. We must not allow an overseas conflict to cause racism here in Britain and especially not among civil servants.

"The Jewish community will be rightly appalled to hear of these allegations against such a senior figure."

Man accused of thought crimes.

Holocaust-denying Bishop sacked from seminary

Ultra-conservative Society of St Pius X gives Richard Williamson until the end of the month to change his mind about the gas chambers

Ruth Gledhill, Religion Correspondent, Times Online

The English Roman Catholic bishop who denies that the Holocaust took place has been sacked as director of a traditionalist seminary.

Bishop Richard Williamson was removed from his position at the Society of St Pius X La Reja Seminary, outside Buenos Aires, the Argentinean capital, at the weekend.

The move is unlikely to placate critics of Pope Benedict XVI, who recently lifted a decree of excommunication imposed on the bishop and three others from the ultra-conservative society, which has itself now given Bishop Williamson until the end of the month to change his mind about the Nazi gas chambers.

In an interview with Der Spiegel, a German weekly magazine, Bishop Williamson refused to recant and said he would not visit Auschwitz. He agreed, however, to "review the historical evidence."

The affair has created unprecedented division in the Catholic Church. Senior Cardinals in the Vatican who opposed the lifting of the excommunications are furious at the impression it has given of a papacy in disarray and out of touch.

German bishops have called for Bishop Williamson, an Old Wykehamist, to be re-excommunicated.

The sacking of Bishop Williamson by Bishop Bernard Fellay, head of the society, comes after he stated in an interview with Swedish television that he did not believe any Jews died in gas chambers during the war, or that any more than 300,000 died. The accepted figure of Jewish deaths alone is six million. The interview took place in Germany where denying the Holocaust is an imprisonable offence.