Calls for Manchester venue to be fined for hosting David Icke

Jewish campaigners are calling for a Manchester venue to be fined after it hosted notorious anti-Semite David Icke in front of a sold-out crowd this weekend.

Icke, a former footballer who says Jews control the world and started the First World War, performed for 12 hours at the O2 Apollo on Saturday, as part of his Worldwide Wake Up Tour.

He has previously said Jews “dominated the Versailles Peace Conference and created the circumstances which made the Second World War inevitable” and that “they financed Hitler to power in 1933 and made the funds available for his rearmament”.

This week the leaders of Manchester City Council were urged to fine the venue “an amount in excess of the profits” and impose licence conditions, after complaints by the charity Campaign Against Anti-Semitism (CAA).

“David Icke is a modern day hate preacher who seeks to spread the belief that a Jewish conspiracy controls the world, started both world wars and that Hitler acted on valid information,” said CAA director Stephen Silverman.

“Not only did the O2 Apollo allow him to address their packed venue for twelve hours, they profited from it. We have written to Manchester City Council asking that they fine the venue an amount in excess of the profits from the evening and impose licence conditions so that this does not happen again.”

Icke’s world tour has so far taken in Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Holland and Italy, and he is set to take the stage in Brazil, Argentina, Canada, Spain and Russia this year.