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)
David Shayler pied at award ceremony
- video/x-ms-asf
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".
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
Captain Swing
Not so clever
05.03.2002 17:04
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
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
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
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
e-mail:
simon@privacy.org
Homepage:
http://www.privacyinternational.org
What the torygraph sez
05.03.2002 23:18
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
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
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
undercurrents
e-mail:
underc@gn.apc.org
Homepage:
http://www.undercurrents.org/bigbrother.htm
que?
06.03.2002 01:35
mind your bubble doesnt burst
Mr Kipling
Deserved it more than Jose Bove, I reckon!
06.03.2002 05:23
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
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
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
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
stop and think
Agree
06.03.2002 16:31
DoS
Cowardly attack on Shayler
06.03.2002 17:03
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
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
"there are good reasons to be suspicious of Mr Shayler, those mentioned above and more can be found in 'Notes From The Borderland',
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
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
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
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
Spike Militant
To be fair...
07.03.2002 18:24
Spike Militant
Good show all round
09.03.2002 14:54
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
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
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
James bond
Twats....
12.03.2002 18:13
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
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
e-mail:
grandlaf@lineone.net
David Shayler / Gandalf URL
13.03.2002 17:02
The whole Green Anarchist and Tim Hepple saga is worth a read too, if you haven't already :
Just stay the hell away from
Andrew Taylor
Homepage:
http://website.lineone.net/~grandlaf/Shysler.htm
In defence of SchNEWS
14.03.2002 13:31
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
tru thman