Jacqui Smith banned radio talker, he sued, now she's stepping down

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Posted: June 02, 2009
© 2009 WorldNetDaily

In the wake of scandal over personal use of taxpayer funds and her controversial ban of talk-radio host Michael Savage, British Home Secretary Jacqui Smith will resign, according to the London Telegraph.

Smith has indicated she will step down when Prime Minister Gordon Brown reshuffles his Cabinet after this week's local and European elections, the British paper said today.

The Telegraph noted Smith faced humiliation over her husband's submission of a receipt to the House of Commons for watching adult films. She also claimed her family home as a second home under the Parliament members' allowances plan while staying with her sister in London. In addition, she allegedly charged a number of personal items as office expenses.

But on a BBC radio program today featuring Savage, a barrage of callers reflected public anger over Smith's surprising decision last month to ban the popular American talk host from entry into the United Kingdom along with murderers and terrorists.

Savage said the morning show had planned to take callers for only five minutes, but the segment went on for 30 minutes as phone lines lit up. Callers included a Muslim who said he was opposed to Smith's ban of Savage.

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As WND reported, the talk host hired lawyers in London last month to issue a defamation complaint against Smith.

The official complaint arrived at the home secretary's office yesterday.

A spokesman said Smith would not back down.

"As the home secretary has already said, [Savage] was excluded for engaging in unacceptable behaviour by making comments that might provoke others to serious criminal acts and foster hatred that might lead to inter-community violence," he said.

Any legal proceedings "would be robustly defended," the spokesman asserted.

"We stand by our decision to exclude this individual," he said. "Coming to the U.K. is a privilege that we refuse to extend to those who abuse our standards and values to undermine our way of life."

Smith is one of numerous Parliament members embroiled in the expense scandal. Three other MPs in her Labour Party also announced today they will resign at the next election.

Smith contended upon announcing the ban of Savage May 5 that the talk host was "someone who has fallen into the category of fomenting hatred, of such extreme views and expressing them in such a way that it is actually likely to cause inter-community tension or even violence if that person were allowed into the country."

Savage also has sent a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, asking that she call on the British government to withdraw the ban.

The complaint against Smith notes the home secretary's office said in a press release that the "controversial daily radio host" is "considered to be engaging in unacceptable behavior by seeking to provoke others to serious criminal acts and fostering hatred which might lead to inter-community violence."

The allegations are "entirely false," the complaint asserts.

"At no time has our client provoked or sought to provoke others to commit crimes or serious criminal acts."

Savage hosts the nation's third most popular radio talk show in the U.S., with an estimated 8 million listeners a week on about 400 stations, according to his syndicator, the Talk Radio Network.

Savage told WND after the ban was announced last month that his message for Smith and the people of the U.K. was, "Shame on you. Shame that you've fallen to such a low level."

"It's interesting to me that here I am a talk show host, who does not advocate violence, who advocates patriotic traditional values – borders, language, culture – who is now on a list banned in England," Savage said. "What does that say about the government of England? It says more about them than it says about me."

The U.K. list also includes Hamas leader Yunis Al-Astal, former Ku Klux Klan grand wizard Stephen Donald Black, neo-Nazi Erich Gliebe and radical American pastor Fred Phelps, known for his virulent anti-gay protests at funerals. Phelps' daughter Shirley Phelps-Roper also is on the list.

On his website, Savage is appealing to his listeners to contribute his legal fund, which he has used for various efforts, including a lawsuit last year against the Council on American-Islamic Relations for waging a boycott using excerpts of his copyrighted remarks. In the case of Savage's U.K. ban, however, CAIR has sided with Savage, arguing "freedom of speech is a two-way street."

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