Conservative MP Bob Stewart has been found guilty of a racially aggravated public order offense, after telling an activist to “go back to Bahrain.” Stewart was fined £600 by chief magistrate Paul Goldspring. The confrontation took place outside the Foreign Office’s Lancaster House in Westminster on 14 December between Stewart and Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei, the director of advocacy at the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy.
Stewart had been attending an event hosted by the Bahraini Embassy when Alwadaei shouted: “Bob Stewart, for how much did you sell yourself to the Bahraini regime?” Stewart responded by telling Alwadaei: “You’re taking money off my country, go away,” and later asked the campaigner to “get stuffed” and added: “Bahrain’s a great place. End of.” Mr. Alwadaei, however, repeated the question to Stewart, wanting to know if he had obtained any money from the Bahraini government.
Prosecutor Paul Jarvis argued in court that Stewart “demonstrated racial hostility towards Mr. Alwadaei by way of his comments.” However, Stewart’s defense, Paul Cavin KC, said that “There is no right to confront an MP in public and expect answers in a measured House of Commons way.”
Citing footage filmed by a witness and Mr. Alwadaei’s testimony, the Crown Prosecution Service’s Deputy Chief Claire Walsh stated that “the claim that his words were misinterpreted was rejected by the court… hate has no place in society and wherever our legal test is met, the CPS will not hesitate to prosecute those who perpetrate hate crimes.”
Following the verdict, Liberal Democrat Chief Whip Wendy Chamberlain called for the removal of Stewart’s whip, arguing that “failing to remove the whip sends a dangerous message that behaviour like this is acceptable.” Whilst the Conservative Party declined to comment, records revealed that in November 2019, Stewart had his £5,349 four-day trip to Bahrain, comprising flights, accommodation, and meals paid for by Bahrain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs
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