George Galloway is one of the most
divisive figures in British politics
today he was most recently the MP for
Bradford West but has now decided to run
for mayor of London well Mr Galloway
joins us here today at the University of
Cambridge thank you very much for
joining us here I'd like to start by
asking you the government says it will
accept 20,000 refugees over the next 5
years do you think that's enough well
first of all I'm not sure why you should
describe me as one of the most divisive
figures in British Politics As a matter
of fact the ideas that I stand for are
the ideas of the great majority of
people in the country perhaps here in
these uh green fields of uh Cambridge
University uh that's divisive but the
things I stand for opposition to the war
in Iraq uh support for the Palestinian
people opposition to nuclear weapons
opposition to what they call austerity
which is really the class war that the
rich is waging uh on the poor I don't
think these are divisive stands at all
as for refugees uh I don't want any
refugees not 20,000 not 2,000 I want the
refugees to be able to return to their
own countries to their own homes and
that means stopping doing the things
that we have been doing which have
created these Refugee flows in the first
place most 80% at least of the current
wave of refugees are from Iraq Syria and
Afghanistan and I have opposed British
government policy in all three of these
theaters and if people had listened to
me we wouldn't have these refugees now a
million people plus would still be alive
that are dead and buried uh and we ought
to concentrate on that of course it's
distinctly unchristian to say the least
to bomb someone's country and then lock
the door on them when they are fleeing
from your bombs and so no words could uh
could be dredged to sum up the contempt
one must feel for a government that does
that that bombs and locks the doors at
the same time so do you think the
British government is doing enough do
you advocate for accepting more refugees
into Britain as I said I don't play that
num schem because I'm not in favor of
any refugees I want all the refugees to
go back to Syria back to Iraq and back
to Afghanistan and that means ending the
wars there okay but pragmatically we've
seen that the current government's
policy is focusing refugees to be
resettled in the north of England as
mayor of London would you advocate for
more refugees to be resettled the third
time you've asked me the question and
I'm going to give you the same answer
for the third time I don't get into the
numbers game I don't want refugees I
want refugees to be back in their own
country countries like Syria are being
intellectually
decapitated by what's happening there
the people who are fleeing Syria are the
people that Syria most desperately needs
they are doctors surgeons uh uh public
servants people who are vitally needed
in Syria and who oughtn't to be being
forced to
flee prior to Jeremy Corbin's election
as labor leader you said you would
rejoin the labor party pretty damn quick
if he was made leader have you reapplied
to join and I don't intend to reapply uh
the labor party has to resend my unjust
wartime expulsion I don't want
compensation I don't even want an
apology but they must resend that unjust
expulsion which was opposed at the time
by Mr foot the former leader by Mr Ben
the great Labor uh figure and figure
head and of course Mr Corbin so I'm
waiting for the labor party to resend my
expulsion which would have the effect of
reinstating me in the party and not
asking for uh
readmission if they were to resend your
expulsion from the party would you drop
out of the race for mayor of London in
favor of the current labor candidate Sid
KH well if you'll forgive me I'll
negotiate that with the leadership of
the labor party not here at Cambridge
you've been described as a rape
apologist by the MP Jess Phillips and
you've accused the MP NASA of lying
about being forced into a marriage in
which she says she was repeatedly raped
I thought we were here to talk about
foreign policy we're talking about your
race uh for the mayor of London now the
Met says there's been a 15% increase in
the incident of rape in London how will
you convince voters you will address
that issue well no voter has Ever Raised
that issue with me uh the uh approximate
cause of this Jess Phillips's comments
were my intervention in support of
Julian Assange uh whose cause I support
absolutely and moreover it's a cause
that's very close to being Vindicated so
you'd have to be careful that by the
time your film came out that uh his
position and mine were not entirely
publicly uh Vindicated uh Julian arange
ought to be given the Nobel Peace Prize
not locked up in the Ecuadorian Embassy
being falsely
[Applause]
traduced but the issue there is that
Julian Assange and his activism for
freedom of speech for example can be
separated completely from his actions as
a person and for what the Supreme Court
has described has described as being
against the would be against the law if
he's found to have carried out these
actions but he even being charged never
mind convicted uh of those actions and
he can't go to Sweden even though Sweden
allowed him to leave freely and he
checked before he left that he could
because Sweden will not guarantee that
he will not be extradited to the United
States to face a secret grand jury and
up to 100 years in prison for blowing
the whistle on American crimes in the
world that's the nub of this story it's
nothing to do with with rape actually
it's everything to do with the hatred of
the US government for people who betray
their secrets even when those secrets
are matters of the gravest public
concern that's why Chelsea Manning is
currently serving I think now 35 years
of her life for giving Julian a s and
Wikileaks those secrets in the first
place this is not nuclear science if
Sweden was interested in uh
investigating claims about asan's
personal Behavior they would easily have
come to London and questioned him which
was always open to them to do or they
would have given an assurance that they
would not further extradite them to the
United States and they haven't been
prepared to do either of those things
okay so you've previously tried to
declare Bradford an Israel free zone
will you try a similar policy in London
no uh and the mayor of London has no
power whatsoever to do that and Power in
Bradford yes as a member of parliament
the parliament of Britain controls the
British government's foreign policy so
uh as a member of parliament I had every
right to take a stand against Israeli
crimes which are even more uh pertinent
as we speak today as the rivers of blood
flow again uh but as the mayor of London
I have neither the power nor the
intention of seeking to do that let's
just clarify that point though you seem
to suggest that as MP for Bradford West
you had the power to declare Bradford to
be Israeli friend no and you know little
you know a little knowledge is dangerous
and if you're going to interview me you
need to make sure you've got all the
knowledge I didn't declare Bradford to
be an Israel free zone because I could
not I had no such power to do so
but I did speak for tens scores of
thousands of people in Bradford so
disgusted by the crimes that were taking
place in Gaza to say we want to boycott
you and frankly hardly anyone in
Bradford uh is not boycotting Israel uh
so these are two different things as the
mayor I have no power to declare London
and Israel free zone nor any intent
ition of trying to do so okay London's
economy is roughly the size of Sweden's
what economic or financial credentials
or experience would you say you have
well I was uh elected six times to the
British Parliament I spent nearly 30
years as a member of the House of
Commons uh more than my two opponents
put together I have more experience than
my two opponents put together in the
economic field in international
relations in uh uh Labor Relations all
the things that I concentrated on in the
near three decades that I spent in
Parliament of course the people will uh
decide uh this matter uh whose
experience they prefer Whose stand is
closer to theirs who they think would
best fight for the majority in London
and not the very small minority For Whom
the current mayor of London has operated
for eight long years Mr George Galloway
thank you for joining us here C pleas