The Ghost of Watt Tyler

Watt Tyler was one of the leaders of the 1381 Peasants’ Revolt. He was a slain by the King’s supporters after drinking a jug of beer “in a very rude and disgusting fashion before the King's face.”

Tuesday, May 03, 2005

Who is trying to destroy Galloway?

Over the weekend The Sunday Times ran a story about Galloway’s impending divorce. I can’t find the original online – perhaps because they’ve developed a conscience… but I doubt it. Anyway here’s a follow up in the Scotsman:


GEORGE Galloway, the leader of the anti-war party Respect, yesterday claimed that a newspaper was seeking to damage his election chances by publishing a story about his marriage split. His Palestinian-born wife of five years, Dr Amineh Abu-Zayyad, told the Sunday Times that she wants to divorce him over his friendships with other women. She said she would be contacting lawyers this week. A spokesman for Mr Galloway, the former MP for Glasgow Central, said that the timing of the story, with the election only days away, "could not have been worse".
The matter was a "personal tragedy" for both parties, he said, but added: "It was timed obviously to impinge on the election."



It reminds me of the campaign to destroy Arthur Scargill after the miners strike. Eventually it emerged a shady plot had been hatched by the security services. The then editor of the Mirror, Roy Greenslade, was forced to apologise. It is all documented in Seumas Milne’s (the comment editor of the Guardian) excellent book “The Enemy Within.” It would not surprise me if something similar is behind Galloway’s troubles. Who made the phone calls to Galloway’s wife?