August 30, 2005
Scots MP calls for anti-terror law ban on US evangelist Robertson

(The Scotsman) - "A Government minister has fuelled the row over Britain's proposed new anti-terror laws by calling for Pat Robertson, the controversial American evangelist, to be banned from the UK. Nigel Griffiths, the deputy leader of the House of Commons, said Mr Robertson should be barred from Britain for inciting 'hate and murder'.

Mr Robertson has been at the centre of a storm in the United States after he called on Washington to assassinate Hugo Chávez, the president of Venezuela.

Tony Blair's proposed anti-terror laws are designed to prevent some Islamic preachers who back suicide bombers and terrorism from coming to Britain.

The laws would give the government the ability to refuse entry to anyone found to have incited terrorism (...)

Mr Griffiths said that he supported the new anti-terror laws, but argued the legislation should be used in an even-handed way, and if that meant annoying the US government, that was not his concern.

He said: 'My view is that Mr Robertson is frankly not the sort of person we would welcome into Britain. The new law would catch him as someone preaching hate and murder.'

And he added: 'I think anyone who calls for violent measures against others should not be welcome in Britain. What we need to ensure is that what applies to extreme mullahs applies to Pat Robertson. I think if we did that, we could show that this legislation is not targeted at one single race or religious group (...)

Asked whether he was worried that his comments might anger the US administration, Mr Griffiths replied: 'As deputy leader of the House of Commons, what the American administration are happy with or not happy with is not one of my concerns.'

Mr Robertson - a failed Republican presidential candidate, self-described 'humanitarian' and outspoken founder of the right-wing Christian Coalition - sparked the controversy when he said that killing Mr Chávez, the South American leader who has a prickly relationship with the US, would be 'a whole lot cheaper than starting a war' (...)".