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David Shayler pied at award ceremony

MIhearingthisright? | 05.03.2002 14:30

David Shayler, ex-British intelligence operative, was pied last night at the annual Privacy International awards ceremony in London. (article 1)

Video David Shayler pied at award ceremony - video/x-ms-asf

David Shayler pied at award ceremony
David Shayler pied at award ceremony

David Shayler pied at award ceremony
David Shayler pied at award ceremony


Shayler was accepting an award for whistleblowing about illegal MI5 activites, but used his acceptance speech to voice his support for the 'legitimate' work of the British security services. Disgusted campaigners attending the award, who like anyone else involved in any sort of protest in this country would have been the victim of this 'legitimate' activity, decided a playful pieing was in order for this cheek.

David Shayler joined MI5 in Oct/1991 and worked there for five years. He started at F Branch (counter-subversion) in Jan/1992, and worked in T Branch (Irish terrorism) from August 1992 until October 1994. It was his work with these secretive, reactionary and generally dodgy organisations and generally that Shayler was seeking to promote at the ceromony.

Before Shayler made his comments, the award ceremony had already created controversy when the Daily Telegraph, the Conservative Party's in-house journal, was congratulated by the organisers and given an award for, surprisingly, running a campaign against a Labour Government.

"Privacy International do a great job in exposing the secret world of spooks and surveillance obsessed government agencies," said one protester, "So we were a bit surprised to see their award ceremony being used to promote the 'legitimate' activities the security services. A pie in the face seemed the obvious response".

MIhearingthisright?

Comments

Hide the following 31 comments

About time too!

05.03.2002 15:31

Simply Excellent!

Captain Swing


Not so clever

05.03.2002 17:04

I was there when shalyler got hit..if people were pissed off at Shayler, why didnt they speak up during the award ceremony and get a debate going?

Sadly to most people it looked like a bunch of angry men attacking a guy in bar and then legging it.

not M15


show some respect, and courage!

05.03.2002 18:20

I have my doubts about David Shayler, and i feel uncomfortable with dealing with someone who is ex security services. But the man has taken some important steps and as a whistleblower should be applauded.
We have an ally, an ally we could never have expected to have. If you have a problem with some of his statements and beliefs then at least have the courage to debate with him. Last night could have afforded plenty of oppurtunity for that. A pie does not help any cause.
We need the likes of Privacy International and their commitment and dedication. The fact they bring a diverse bunch of politicos together is a strength. When their efforts get hijacked for what is no more than an ego trip we are hardly encouraging them to persevere. Show some respect for others efforts in future.
Well done to all at Privacy International for hosting another entertaining, informative and challenging event. Keep up the good work!

kev


good reasons to be suspicious

05.03.2002 19:11

there are good reasons to be suspicious of Mr Shayler, those mentioned above and more can be found in "Notes From The Borderland",  http://www.borderland.co.uk/,
 http://website.lineone.net/~grandlaf/Shysler.htm.

For one thing he still supports the official line about the Pan Am flight 103 bombing over Lockerbie.

jazzy_j


perplexed

05.03.2002 19:21

Hi. I'm Simon Davies, director of Privacy International and the organiser of last night's Big Brother Awards at which David Shayler was pied. I must say I'm utterly perplexed and dismayed at the actions at the award last night. I have great admiration for much of the work done in past years by the pie throwers. Privacy International has publicly acknowledged them in the past with the same Winston award we gave to David Shayler and to the Telegraph's Free Country Campaign. But a line was crossed last night with this action. PI members felt demoralised and humiliated. As any activist group knows, t's hard enough getting support for our actions. Now it's public knowledge that even our heroes of civil rights are under threat if they attend an award.

We asked for support for Lindis Percy after she was jailed by the American authorities. Would the pie throwers support a BNP assault on her at the next award? Or a fascist attack on any of our other activist award winners? Last night's actions set a dangerous precedent, and send out a dangerous signal

simon davies
mail e-mail: simon@privacy.org
- Homepage: http://www.privacyinternational.org


What the torygraph sez

05.03.2002 23:18

Telegraph honoured by civil rights champions
By Stephen Robinson
(Filed: 05/03/2002)


THE Daily Telegraph was praised yesterday by civil rights champions as it picked up a "Winston" award in recognition of the paper's Free Country campaign in defence of individual liberty.

At the same ceremony in London last night, Sir Richard Wilson, the Cabinet Secretary, was named worst public servant of the year and awarded a "Big Brother" for his "long-standing commitment to opposing freedom of information, data protection, and ministerial accountability".

The Big Brother and Winston awards - the names are taken from George Orwell's novel 1984 - are organised by Privacy International with the support of the London School of Economics.

Before an audience of 350 civil rights campaigners, the Telegraph was praised by judges for launching the Free Country campaign last summer and sticking with it after the September 11 attacks made the political climate hostile to individual liberties.

The judges praised the paper for its exploration of drugs law reform, government surveillance and the proliferation of closed-circuit television systems.

Charles Moore, the editor, said he was delighted to receive the award. "There are no vested interests in the business of defending freedom. Business, government, the unions, the churches - none of these groups seeks to defend liberty itself. Freedom is the business of no one, yet it is the concern of all of us."

Other winners of Winstons included: David Shayler, for challenging the Official Secrets Act, and Lord Phillips of Sudbury, who forced changes to the emergency terrorism legislation.

Your man


Aim higher!

05.03.2002 23:31

Seems like the pie throwers are going after increasingly soft targets. This action is undoutedly a blow to the serious work of pieing the powerful.

Shayler needs to be cultivated, he has lots of information about the true workings of the secret state.

Bad move guys.

chuck


Telegraph editor attacks protester at awards

06.03.2002 00:32

Daily Telegraph editor attacks protester

Undercurrents recorded extraordinary scenes during the Big Brother awards on Monday night. One man threw beer over Stephen Robinson, assistant editor of the Daily Telegraph in protest at his newspaper winning a civil rights award. The soaked assistant editor, responded by grabbing the mans face.

Activists also targeted ex-M15 spy turned whistle blower with a cream pie for his vocal support of the secret service agencies while accepting his own award.
Full story with dramatic photographs on  http://www.undercurrents.org/bigbrother.htm

undercurrents
mail e-mail: underc@gn.apc.org
- Homepage: http://www.undercurrents.org/bigbrother.htm


que?

06.03.2002 01:35

so one meaningless wanker gets pied by another meaningless wanker, at an award ceremony full of meaningless wankers?

mind your bubble doesnt burst

Mr Kipling


Deserved it more than Jose Bove, I reckon!

06.03.2002 05:23

NOTHING AND NOBODY IS SACRED as Bove realized, to his cost, at a signing of his 'NEW, HOT' book.
Shame really, coz I have met/talked with him a bit and I quite like him.
With dubious bods like Shayler/Mr.Telegraph, a pie in their face is the LEAST the deserve.
Maybe though people could take a hint and do the dastardly deed outside of the venue???

THE DAY I PIED TONY BENN! Well, nearly!
Following recent outbursts in the media in which Tony Benn said that he only listened to those who voted (for him, no doubt), I was sitting in a packed meeting hall, poised to give him a yummy vegetarian gateau at some meeting, the cause of which I can't remember.
The reason that he was saved wasn't because of some last minute conversion to the cadre of New Labour-Tony Benn, but because I thought that, by throwing the pie I would end up severely disrupting a really useful, and interesting, meeting.
Then just recently he announced he was was quitting parliament 'to get more involved in politics'!!!
Strange man, stranger than 'Stevie' Norris- only other MP I have really talked to.!

@lex


Good Job

06.03.2002 11:05

Actually, I've met David Shayler, and he is a total wanker. This guy literally thinks the sun shines out of his arse - he joins an organisation dedicated to the implementation of a totalitarian surveillance state, and then he has the nerve to complain when he breaks the law . . . if you can't do the time, don't do the crime, David!!!

Incidentally, the last time I saw him was at a Media Workers Against the War demo at BBC house - Shayler was busy insulting an elderly American gentleman who had just lost a relative in the September 11 attack (if you don't believe me, just ask someone who was there).

Whatever your personal views on September 11, it is surely a sign of a bullying mentality that one can find it acceptable to browbeat an old man in front of a jeering crowd to win a cheap political point. The moment our movement becomes involved with a total prick like Shayler, we are dead in the water.

Anarchist Rioter


Pies, pies and damned pies!

06.03.2002 12:07

I agree with simon davies, organiser of the awards, who posted above.

The whole subject of privacy is a very difficult one to get coverage of, or campaign around. How many people from "our movement" did any campaigning around the RIP (regulation of investigatory powers) bill the other year? Sod all, that's how many.

The main posts to indymedia have been around the telegraph and shaylor and not around the main four awards and nominees for the real evil people / corporations / initiatives which is the main issue - check the website people  http://www.privacyinternational.org/bigbrother/uk2002

Post 911 the world faces increasing repression, removal of liberties and an amazing level of loss of privacy and freedoms.

If you objected to the winston award winners you could have said your views, the awards were a pretty relaxed forum where participation and debate is encouraged.

If you wanted to push direct action as a tactic against privacy invasion and repression you could have called for action against the winners of the evil awards.

In short I find the pie actions here to be ill thought out and I'm sorry to say childish. As said the awards have praised pie people in the past, I hope your recent pie actions will not damage the awards in the future, because they have been one of the best ways of highlighting serious abuse of privacy that we have.

Wake Up Wake Up
WE ARE ALL UNDER ATTACK

where were you?


More harm than good

06.03.2002 12:55

The issue is not whether David Shayler is a wanker or whether he was a suitable candidate for a pie, the issue is whether the Big Brother awards were the right place to do it. Simon Davies and his crew put a lot of hard work into this event and they deserved a little more respect and consideration in my view than some self righteous geezer turning up with a ‘my agenda is more important than yours’ type of attitude. It was total arrogance, Privacy International deserve an apology.

stop and think


Agree

06.03.2002 16:31

Well said stop and think, I'm with you all the way. Privacy International are one of the few groups who do give a toss about electronic privacy issues. This was the wrong location for the baking brigade.

DoS


Cowardly attack on Shayler

06.03.2002 17:03

I witnessed the cowardly attack on Shayler at the post Big Brother Awards drink-up.

A 'very brave' individual opted out of pushing the pie in Shayler's face at the actual awards ceremony (too hardcore perhaps?!), and went for the sneak up on him in a crowded pub and run off like a naughty schoolboy option.

Did the 'X' in X-M15 actually mean anything to this individual? Let's face it, there were a lot of X-army, X-security, and X-NF, involved in the anti-road's movement in the 90's.

Shayler has caused massive embarassment to the Establishment since going public on the activities of our Ministry of Dirty Tricks. He deserved his Big Brother Award for exposing information proving that the British Government murdered inocent people in Libya.

Personally, I'm tired of the sniggering schoolboy school of protest. Any idiot can smash someone in the face when they're not looking, and then run away.

On another note, I also found it 'a bit odd' that certain individuals chose to act as walking CCTV cameras throughout the whole evening. Don't these people go anywhere without having a camera on their shoulder? This was, afterall, an evening dedicated to the issue of surveilance.

Neil Goodwin


Reality check

06.03.2002 20:41

Personally, I think there's more important things going on in the world than this, but the way some people here are slagging off the people who did this pieing beggars believe.

Shayler had a pie thrown over him - I don't know where you live, but in my world that is not "smashing someone in the face" or anything like a "BNP assault". In fact I can't imagine anything more trivialising of the far right's violence towards ethnic minorities than that comparision.

I thought the people at PI supported pieing - some people here seem to be as stuck up their own arses as any of the pompous corporate types who have been complaining about pieing for years. Pieing Shayler at the ceremony would have been ok by you would it, 'braver'? If they'd done that you'd have complained even more you hypocrite. It doesn't surprise me that you see naughty schoolboys everywhere - you sound like everyone's worst memory of a pompous, moralising schoolteacher telling everyone to shut up, sit down and not make any trouble.

If you think failed secret agents, right wing newspapers and liberal lords are going to protect us from attacks on our most basic rights might I politely suggest that you get out more or at least buy a history book?

Cause you know who protects our basic rights more than anyone?

People making trouble.

me


WHAT ARE THE "good reasons to be suspicious"

07.03.2002 15:19

jazzy_j said :
"there are good reasons to be suspicious of Mr Shayler, those mentioned above and more can be found in 'Notes From The Borderland',  http://www.borderland.co.uk/,
 http://website.lineone.net/~grandlaf/Shysler.htm."

The 2nd URL is dead. The 1st contains two vague allusions to Shayler, and an invitation to send a cheque to a parapolitics journal.

The only point of pie-ing a public figure is to puncture an aura of authority and power through media ridicule.

What is the point of picking on a whistleblower like Shayler, who risks years in jail because he doesn't believe his country should go round assassinating people, and then pulling off the ground-breaking media coup of publishing the pictures on a website ?

Some people are so astonishingly fuckwitted it's amazing they found their way out of the womb.

fuckwit patrol


Response to Simon Davis' 'Perplexed' comment

07.03.2002 17:48

To Simon re: 'Perplexed'... What are you talking about? Why are asking 'would the pie throwers support BNP attacks on Lindis Percy or fascist attacks on other award winners?' During the Bib Bro award ceremonies there was a slide shown showing a cabinet minister being pied. This was widely celebrated in the room and you, yourself, apeared to be amused (didn't think the trower of that pie was fascist?) Fascists attack people on grounds (primarily) on the basis of their religion, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity etc... but most of all to gain power.

Chucking a pie just ridicules someone who's been (unnecessarily) placed on a pedestal - be they politicians canvassing for electoral support or apologists for the secret service ebing given an award at a 'Privacy International' event. Your argument doesn't make sense. People who scream 'fascist'whenever people do something they don't like run a real risk of 'crying wolf'!

REALLY Perplexed


Response to Simon Davis' 'Perplexed' comment

07.03.2002 17:48

To Simon re: 'Perplexed'... What are you talking about? Why are asking 'would the pie throwers support BNP attacks on Lindis Percy or fascist attacks on other award winners?' During the Bib Bro award ceremonies there was a slide shown showing a cabinet minister being pied. This was widely celebrated in the room and you, yourself, apeared to be amused (didn't think the trower of that pie was fascist?) Fascists attack people on grounds (primarily) on the basis of their religion, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity etc... but most of all to gain power.

Chucking a pie just ridicules someone who's been (unnecessarily) placed on a pedestal - be they politicians canvassing for electoral support or apologists for the secret service ebing given an award at a 'Privacy International' event. Your argument doesn't make sense. People who scream 'fascist'whenever people do something they don't like run a real risk of 'crying wolf'!

REALLY Perplexed


Response to Simon Davis' 'Perplexed' comment

07.03.2002 17:49

To Simon re: 'Perplexed'... What are you talking about? Why are asking 'would the pie throwers support BNP attacks on Lindis Percy or fascist attacks on other award winners?' During the Bib Bro award ceremonies there was a slide shown showing a cabinet minister being pied. This was widely celebrated in the room and you, yourself, apeared to be amused (didn't think the trower of that pie was fascist?) Fascists attack people on grounds (primarily) on the basis of their religion, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity etc... but most of all to gain power.

Chucking a pie just ridicules someone who's been (unnecessarily) placed on a pedestal - be they politicians canvassing for electoral support or apologists for the secret service ebing given an award at a 'Privacy International' event. Your argument doesn't make sense. People who scream 'fascist'whenever people do something they don't like run a real risk of 'crying wolf'!

REALLY Perplexed


To be fair...

07.03.2002 18:24

...David Shayler looks like he LOVES pies!

Spike Militant


To be fair...

07.03.2002 18:24

...David Shayler looks like he LOVES pies!

Spike Militant


Good show all round

09.03.2002 14:54

It seems to me that the whole event had the best of both worlds: each of the award winners got their moment of glory on stage, but each was also reminded that their acheivements are far from perfect.

Privacy International, it's great you do these awards, but beware of compromising yourselves for the sake of getting "more coverage". Pie&Pint or no Pie&Pint, I would have been shocked to read of Shayler's and the Telegraph's awards, and seen them as a sad watering down of some key political issues. Rewarding a huge newspaper and an ex-member of the security forces (who's had tons of media coverage) hardly does much to boost grassroots, under-funded campaigns which exist the world over.

So ditch this 'perplexed and attacked' line - as PI, you all put on a great event which turned out to be even greater than you originally planned. Congratulate yourselves that you are working on such an important issue that people get worked up enough to turn one their ovens and lose their pints...! Well done all.

Pixie


I don't buy it

11.03.2002 17:51

Even if David Shayler is a wanker, he's our wanker. He is attacking MI5's intrusion into people's lives. So what if he believes that some of what MI5 does is legitimate? I disagree with him, but I think the fact that he does makes his criticisms more cogent and people more likely to listen.

Serious politics means trying to get things done, not attacking people because they aren't ideologically 100% pure (ie in agreement with you). I like Schnews but I thought this was pretty stupid of them.

dave


Oh come on

11.03.2002 20:32

Even if Schnews' pieing was stupid, it was OUR pieing, because standing up for the security forces is blatantly also stupid... I have a feeling this debate could run and run unless we start switching on our irony chips.

If you can back Shayler (or the Telegraph for that matter) without agreeing with 100 percent of his views they you can back Schnews witout agreeing with 100% of their pies.

Pixie (again)


Why didnt schnews report it?

12.03.2002 10:22

How come the awards or the pies or the pints werent mentioned in Schnews at all? they had a nearly a week to report it..were they embarrassed by the flak they got perhaps?

James bond


Twats....

12.03.2002 18:13

I was present at the awards, and what I saw angered and disapointed me.

This April, David Shayler is facing a 30 year prison sentence for exposing Britains Security Services as murderers and liars. He also risked his life in doing so.

He was attacked by a pair of cowards who ran off giggling like naughty little schoolboys without the guts or the honour to remain and explain their actions; how pathetic.

Hey, listen little boys, if you want to bring about social-change, it takes many years of hard work, guts, and the ability to be able to articulate what the fuck it is you're trying to achieve. I left activism because of twats like you; your actions achieved nothing except Your make anyone considering blowing the whistle on nazis, animal-abusers, state and corporate murderers, facist cops etc. think twice about joining us for social-change, and the movement will suffer all the more for it.

There are hundreds, if not thousands of heinous people in the world far more deserving of a pie than a man who DID have the guts to stand up for what he believed in, exposing the murder of innocent civilians in Libya by the state, knowing he could face life imprisonment and even his own murder in the process....and you twats rewarded him with humiliation, fear and confusion; shame on you.

simon


You need to engage with the criticism

12.03.2002 23:10

People supporting Shayler never engage with the criticism levelled against him by Larry O'Hara. If you think he is OK you desperately need to get hold of these articles and read them. They make substantial criticisms of him which need to be aired.

I notice one of the commentators references my website and this seems to have been deleted by the ISP without telling me - since lineone was taken over by some European outfit it has totally gone down the toilet. You could always try writing to Notes From the Borderland BM 4769, London WC1N 3XX for copies of the leaflets, or email me if you want an email version.

Steve

Steve Booth
mail e-mail: grandlaf@lineone.net


David Shayler / Gandalf URL

13.03.2002 17:02

 http://website.lineone.net/~grandlaf/Shysler.htm works fine if you don't screw up when you type it in!

The whole Green Anarchist and Tim Hepple saga is worth a read too, if you haven't already :  http://website.lineone.net/~grandlaf/Lst1.htm

Just stay the hell away from  http://www.shayler.com , as it seems to be under new management..

Andrew Taylor
- Homepage: http://website.lineone.net/~grandlaf/Shysler.htm


In defence of SchNEWS

14.03.2002 13:31

In response to 'James Bond's comment as to why SchNEWS didn't report the piing of Schayler "where they shamed by it?" - to be fair, SchNEWS do an excellent job of cramming in loads of info to 2 sides of A4 every week for nearly 7 (or is it 8) years. Last week they reported on Oil and the CIA in Venezuela, the imprisonment of an activist active in the resistance to the construction of the Naramada Dam in Medya Pradesh, India, and the on-going uprisings in Argentina. The week before they reported on International Women's day, the dis-location of Gana and Gwi tribes in Botswana, actions against a giant carbon trading conference in Holland and a MASSIVE victory for the campaign to stop the extraction fo pete from Hatfield Moor in Yorkshire. If anyone doubts the excellent stuff printed on those 2 sides they should look at the back-issues stored on  http://www.schnews.co.uk

I don't think many people (including those involved in the pieing of Shayler would argue that chucking the cake in someones face was more worthy of precious colom inches than the other stories. It seems that they've got their priorities right. It might be totally valid to ridicule someone who's been given an award for something rediculous, without needing to go on and on about it in every publication.

Response to 'James Bond'


tru thman

07.12.2006 09:25

David Shayler is a remarkable human and will, in time, be recognized for what he is doing for our freedoms.

tru thman