[Music]
From Svenuran Ericson to the counties of
Wessix, a series of celebrities have
been duped by a journalist who disguises
himself in Arab robes. His newspaper,
The News of the World, also says his
work has put many criminals behind bars.
Now, Maza Mammud's identity could itself
be exposed after a legal victory by
George Galloway. The News of the World
has decided not to appeal against the
ruling, so the respect MP is now free to
release photographs of the man known as
the fake shake. Dash Naseli reports.
A man with no face, but his disguise is
all too familiar. The fake shake. News
of the world undercover reporter Mazer
Mahmud. But could he have met his match
in gorgeous George Galloway, an MP who
recently described himself as a bit of a
catch? I think it was always going to
happen that one day somebody after all
these uh other people got dumbed by the
fake shake that somebody would recognize
him. And um and it's just rather sweet
that it is George Galloway because
George Galloway is the sort of person
who's who's going to make a lot of hay
about it and indeed has done. Mazer
Mahmud is fiercely protective of his
identity. He works undercover and claims
to have put over a 100 criminals behind
bars. His biggest targets are the rich
and famous. He once lured Fenur and
Ericson to a bogus business meeting in
Dubai and filmed him making indiscreet
comments about his players. But his
style of journalism courts criticism.
He's often accused of entrapment. His
greatest scoop was exposing an alleged
plot to kidnap Victoria Beckham. Five
men were arrested, but the case fell
apart after it was revealed that the
main witness had been paid by Mammud's
newspaper. Could the reporter be losing
his touch? When he invited George
Galloway to a business meeting at the
Dorchester Hotel on Park Lane, the MP,
who once dressed up as a cat on a
reality TV show, immediately smelt a
rat. When Mr. Galloway arrived here for
his dinner date, he was met by a man
wearing Arab costume who claimed to be
an Islamist. Yet, he didn't have a beard
or seemed to know much about Islamic
practices. The fake shake then started
to ask Mr. Galloway a number of crude
questions about how to fund an MP.
The media savvy Mr. Galloway lodged a
complaint with the speaker of the House
of Commons and the Met Police claiming
Mahmud tried to get him to make
anti-Semitic remarks. The reporter is
used to criticism. Perhaps what really
worried him was the threat to print his
picture. His newspaper immediately took
out an injunction trying to stop
publication. The judge realized that the
reality is even if Mr. Mahmood's life is
under is indeed under threat and that
was the evidence before the court. The
publication of his photograph wouldn't
actually add to the danger. The people
who he has set up in the past, the
people who might be after him would
already know what he looks like. The
fake shake lost his case and his picture
can now be revealed. But in fact, it's
already been published on several
internet sites over the years. His
newspaper has asked us not to reveal his
identity because Mahammud has received
credible death threats. The question now
that he's been rumbled, what disguise
will he come up with next? Dari with me
in the studio, George Galloway, MP and
Nick Ferrari, radio presenter who's
worked for several tabloid papers,
including being former assistant editor
of the Daily Mirror. And you think that
this chap's identity should be
protected? Yes, I do. Um the only people
who are celebrating tonight are uh
charlatans, pimps, con artists,
villains, and wouldbe terrorists. Your
report talks about maybe more than 100
people being put behind bars. I'll tell
you, it's 120 villains have been put
behind bars, not least people who tried
to perhaps make some form of terrorist
bomb. They are the ones who are
celebrating. I'm afraid it's a terribly
dark day for journalism. Public servant
by the side of George. the news of the
world, that friend of the uh of the weak
and the downtrodden, the sight of the
news of the world, huddling behind Mary
Bell, John Venibals, and Maxine Carr
when everybody knows that they would be
leading the vigilante squads against
such people if they could only unmask
them. The idea of the news of the world
sheltering behind the right of privacy,
the right of pictures taken for one
purpose not being used in a national
newspaper for quite another is simply
preposterous. And the judge threw their
case out, lock, stock, and barrel. This
man's not a journalist. He's a
provocator. He sets people up. Some of
these criminals that Mr. Ferrari is
booming about were actually entrapped in
the crimes that they committed by this
man in 1999. I spoke about this in
parliament. Well, I mean there are two
issues here. One is the idea of a
newspaper going to law anyway against
other journalists. Um but the important
part of that is that they used laws that
they have themselves try to overturn. In
other words, for example, they've wanted
the identity of the
Bulger murderers known and they've
wanted Mary Bell to be identified. Now
they say, "Oh, no, no, because they're
protected. We should be protected." Um,
both of those public services, I would
say, and we have to realize what Maser
Makmoud has done. He is not a criminal.
He's, to my knowledge, commit committed
no criminal acts unless Mr. Galloway can
tell otherwise. What's happened is
unfortunately what what what is what is
in fact what he did which was to try to
go him into making anti-semitic uh uh
statements. John, you're right. It was a
clumsy one. They shouldn't have done it.
But I don't think it's right. Well, hang
on. I don't think it's right that Mazim
Mahmood should be remembered for that.
It would be the same as say remembering
somebody who appeared on a television
program because he dressed in a lurid
pink uh leotard and tried to drink milk
out of an actress's hands. I'm sure Mr.
Galloway wouldn't want to be remembered
solely for that. you you'd have cut even
less of a dash in a lurid pink leotard
than Absolutely. If you want to make it
personal, we can. If I want to make it
personal, listen, he will be he will be
he will be remembered uh for this and
for other disreputable attempts to
entrap people into behavior that they
would not otherwise have. Crimes go
away. Well, I certainly have committed
no crimes, but he asked me to. He
suggested that he could foreign fund the
respect party covertly through English
people. When I told them this was
completely illegal and rightly so, he
pressed the point and pressed the point
all the while speaking into a
microphone. That's why I've demanded
that they publish the text of the
conversation. When that failed, he began
holocaust denying, trying to lead me
down a road of making anti-semitic
remarks. When that failed, he must have
found the bill when it arrived. Quite a
painful one. The Dorchester is not
cheap. Now, I think a man who thinks up
crimes then goes looking for people to
set them up to commit them so that the
news of the world can sell more papers
and Rupert Murdoch can make more money
on which he pays no tax. That that is
not a public service. And that's what
the judge said. Well, now you're now I
think you're veering into the realms of
fantasy. Mr. Murdoch does pay tax and
you know that as well as I do. You want
to be careful what you say. % and let's
talk about the people who tried to sell
nuclear waste in an attempt to make a
bomb in this country. Are you saying
that's not a real crime? Well done.
You've just exposed the person who did
that. You shouldn't talk about that
because that's a live issue in front of
the courts now. And when that No, there
are previous there are previous
convictions. I'm going back and What
about this fake shake? What about this?
Let's get back to that. I mean uh Well,
here he is. This is the fake shake. Ah,
right. That's him in uh in civies and uh
this is him in his fake shake outfit.
I've sent it to the queen, to every
member of parliament, and to everyone I
can think of who might one day be duped
by I think it's time it's time for him
to retire and it's time for us to say
good night. Our main headline.