London – A self-styled terrorism expert who was behind a fabricated Sun front-page story about Lord Sugar and other Jewish figures being on an Islamic extremist hitlist has been arrested on suspicion of inciting religious hatred against Jews.
Subscribe to our Daily Roundup Email
Glen Jenvey, 44 – who has appeared on BBC Newsnight as an extremism expert and has helped the Sunday Times with research on terrorism – was arrested in a joint operation by Scotland Yard and Wiltshire Police in a dawn raid at his home in Salisbury.
He was taken to a police station in Salisbury and questioned for several hours, and then bailed without charge until the end of January.
Police took away his computer, his library of audio and DVD materials on Islamic extremists, and his mobile phone.
Speaking to MediaGuardian.co.uk, Jenvey said that the police raid had left him out of work as he could not do any research without his computer.
He said: “I am a freelance journalist of a sort as I supply research material to other journalists. So if I am treated like this, that means other journalists can also be targeted for incitement to religious hatred if they get a story wrong like that.”
He said that the police did not obtain any separate court orders to take away his computer and DVD materials, which may be considered journalistic property.
Jenvey was the source of the Sun splash in January which claimed that Sir Alan – as he was then – was a target for Muslim extremists who were planning revenge attacks on British Jews as a response to the Israeli invasion of Gaza.
The exclusive, which carried the bylines of John Coles and Mike Sullivan, also named Amy Winehouse, the foreign secretary David Milliband and the Labour peer Lord Levy as being on the list of targets.
The story claimed that the list was being compiled on a British-based web forum called Ummah.com. The article claimed that one forum member asked for help in compiling a list of people supporting Israel, and that another member called abuislam asked “Can someone start posting names and addresses?”
Lord Sugar reportedly reviewed his security as a result of the Sun splash, which came to the paper from the news agency South West News.
But within weeks of the story appearing, the Press Complaints Commission launched an investigation, after Ummah.com made a formal complaint that it had been inaccurately portrayed as an extremist website. The website was told by two bloggers that abuislam was in fact Jenvey himself, after they traced him through his computer IP address.
The Sun removed the story from its website as soon as the PCC investigation began.
In September, the story took another twist after Jenvey confessed on the Donal MacIntyre show on BBC Radio 5 Live that he planted the posts on Ummah.com.
The PCC complaint was resolved when the Sun admitted that their splash on Lord Sugar was wrong. The article quoted Jenvey apologising to British Jews and the newspaper.
A week later, the Sun published another correction, apologising to Ummah.com.
Jenvey said planting the posts on Ummah.com were part of an undercover sting, which was prematurely reported by South West News.
He said: “With these posts I wanted to see what sort of extremists would be attracted to it, and what sort of threats they would make against Jews. My intention was to wait for a week.”
Last night Scotland Yard confirmed that a 44-year-old man was arrested by Met officers with the assistance of Wiltshire police at his home in Salisbury on October 26th under suspicion of inciting religious hatred against Jews, and has been bailed until January.
he just wanted a story…
A journalist normally makes up the news this guy broke the 11th commandment Thou Shalt not Get caught.
It is time for the intelligence agencies to get their inteligence from other sources than the media.
Disgusting. He should be stripped of all his press credentials and no reputable news agencies should “freelance” work to him.
Freedom of speech is sacred in a free society. Yes, there will always be bias in the media. Much like here, where nearly all of CNN is slanted ideologically left and nearly all of FNC is slanted ideologically right. Those news agencies (with some exceptions on both sides) at least report the facts, even if it comes with a point of view. For a journalist to not only make up a story (the word journalist is not referring to ‘commentators’ on the left and right who lie repeatedly every day), but to create facts and plant factual evidence is unforgivable… especially when the purpose of the planted facts is to fan the flames of antisemitism and racism. This is one of those times when we should stand with the Muslim community in demanding that no news agencies ever employ this man again. Such a disgusting abuse of public trust can never be tolerated.