Toby Young apologises to Phillip Hammond for antisemitism accusation
Young retracted his accusation after the former Chancellor threatened to sue for defamation
Writer Toby Young has apologised to Phillip Hammond after he labelled as antisemitic the former Chancellor’s suggestion Boris Johnson is backed by “speculators who have bet billions on a hard Brexit.”
Young retracted his accusation after the two exchanged messages publicly on Twitter last Sunday, with Hammond threatening to sue for defamation.
In an opinion piece in The Times last week making no mention of religion or ethnicity, Hammond echoed comments by the PM’ sister Rachel on Radio 4’s World At One show.
“But as his sister has reminded us, he is backed by speculators who have bet billions on a hard Brexit — and there is only one outcome that works for them: a crash-out no-deal Brexit that sends the currency tumbling and inflation soaring,” he wrote.
This is self-evidently absurd. But it is also defamatory. I will be taking legal advice tomorrow morning. I shall make no further comment.
— Philip Hammond (@PhilipHammondUK) September 29, 2019
On Sunday, Young tweeted a screenshot of the piece and accused Hammond of disseminating a “disgusting antisemitic controversy” that “Boris is being manipulated by a secret cabal of city financiers who stand to profit from economic ruin,” prompting the MP for Runnymede and Weybridge to threaten to sue.
But the piece made no reference to “financiers,” as Hammond pointed out in a tweet to Young describing his allegation of antisemitism as “self-evidently absurd” and “defamatory”, and stating that he would be taking legal advice.
Young deleted his tweet shortly before midnight and apologised to Hammond, adding: “The suggestion that ‘speculators’ are controlling the govt [sic] could be construed as an antisemitic trope if ‘speculators’ is being used as a euphemism for Jewish financiers, as it sometimes is. But you evidently didn’t mean that and I’ve deleted the tweet.”
Hammond accepted the apology, tweeting: “Apology accepted, though I did not use the word ‘financiers’. Always happy to discuss our differences – so long as we keep it civilised.”
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
