Darling of the left, political talking head Owen Jones has been accused of lying after denying backing the IRA “militarily”.
Jones, who has become the go-to left-winger for BBC political programmes, caused controversy earlier this week after it was reported he had addressed a “summer school” for Sinn Féin, the Irish nationalist party that has been linked to terror group the IRA.
He was then confronted on Twitter by the Guido Fawkes blog about comments he had previously made claiming he “militarily” supported the IRA, who killed nearly 2,000 people in a three-decade campaign against the UK.
He continuously denied the claim, but was then accused of lying after being presented with a link to the words.
Really? How is that compatible with your statement "I militarily support the IRA against the British State." @OwenJones84 @gm_stone
— Guido Fawkes (@GuidoFawkes) July 29, 2015
@SocialismEvil I'm sorry? I vehemently oppose all IRA violence and have never expressed any support for it, so withdraw please.
— Owen Jones🌹 (@OwenJones84) July 29, 2015
Jones responded that he was 15 years old at the time and protested: “I was completely wrong about that and many other things. I was a child. This is contemptible.” Jones however, was actually 16 – an age at which he believes people are responsible enough to be allowed to vote.
@GuidoFawkes I was *15 years old*. I was completely wrong about that and many other things. I was a child. This is contemptible.
— Owen Jones🌹 (@OwenJones84) July 29, 2015
#erm @MrHarryCole @guidofawkes Whilst @OwenJones84 claims he was 15, that thread is dated 8th Aug 2000 his 16th birthday #HappyBirthday Owen
— @Parlez_me_nTory (@Parlez_me_nTory) July 29, 2015
Jones wrote in August 2000: “I militarily support the IRA against the British State, though I assert that their tactics of individual terrorism were bound to fail and thereby encourage them to take part in building a working class movement against the occupation (rather than their present outright capitulation).”
Jones was reported to have told Sinn Féin’s summer school earlier this month that they should “take inspiration” from the Easter Rising, a revolt against British rule in Ireland in 1916 that, according to Guido, “saw 466 deaths and 2,217 civilians wounded.”
Although he now describes his former words as “stupidity”, this is not the first time a member of the far left has appeared to endorse a group with alleged violent links.
As Douglas Murray wrote in The Spectator:
But just imagine if a British commentator from the political right had recently travelled to address any political party with Sinn Fein’s violent associations. Using Golden Dawn as a comparison doesn’t really work because Sinn Fein have so much more blood on their hands than Golden Dawn.
Sinn Fein is a party which until recently had a military wing responsible for the torture, wounding and murder of thousands of innocent people.
True, members of the vile Golden Dawn have been involved in plenty of violence and brutality, but to nothing like the extent of members of Sinn Fein.
Yet imagine if they had and that a British conservative commentator had just addressed a Golden Dawn event, even if they had they not used the opportunity (as Owen did) to praise their hosts. There would now be a tsunami of criticism from across the political spectrum, especially on the far-left.
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