Government to Savage: You can't think that!

Michael Savage (San Francisco Chronicle)

The British government has demanded talk-radio host Michael Savage  "repudiate" the views it has attributed to him before he even can be considered for removal from a list of banned foreigners.

"It was emphasized that the onus is on your client to publicly renounce the statements which formed the basis of the decision to exclude him," said a letter from the Litigation and Employment Group at the Treasury Solicitor's Department in London.

"Any such repudiation must be genuine and comprehensive, and persuade my client that this is a true shift of position, in which case, my client would be prepared to consider this," said the letter signed only "Treasury Solicitors" on the stationery that included the names Simon Harker, head of division, and Anne Werbicki, team leader.

The demands came as part of the response to Savage's legal action in the United Kingdom to force the removal of his name from a banned list that also includes Hamas leader Yunis Al-Astal, former Ku Klux Klan grand wizard Stephen Donald Black, neo-Nazi Erich Gliebe and radical American pastor Fred Phelps, known for his virulent anti-gay protests at funerals. Phelps' daughter Shirley Phelps-Roper also is on the list.

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Savage has sued former Home Secretary Jacqui Smith for libel for listing him, along with 15 others, as "least wanted" visitors in the country.

The United Kingdom accused Savage, the third-most popular talk radio host in the United States, of justifying the deaths of Muslims.

His representatives, arguing on his behalf, said that was ridiculous.

"We made it clear that our client does not believe that it is right to kill any Muslims," said a letter today to the government. "It is simply outrageous that you suggest that either we or our client should 'justify calling for the murder of Muslims.' As we have made clear, that is not something our client would ever seek to do."

Continued the terse letter, "Moreover, we ask that you explain how our client can repudiate views which are not his own and why he should satisfy your client that there has been 'a true shift of position' when the only issue has been the misunderstanding by your client as to what his views are. To ask him to do so is plainly oppressive.

"We have explained to you what his true views are … and have given you every assurance about his conduct if he were to come to the United Kingdom," the letter on behalf of Savage said.

"That must be sufficient for your client. We do not understand how any reasonable Home Secretary could require anything further," the letter said. "We ask that you set out how you can justify such a stance."

Savage's representatives also continue to seek information from the government on its decision-making process, noting that a full response still hasn't been presented.

"We thought it appropriate to draw your attention to a number of matters arising from the information that we have received so far," the letter said. Those issues included the fact the government's own researcher concluded, "there is no evidence of [the client] advocating or inciting violence."

As WND reported, internal e-mails revealed the U.K. chose Savage to provide "balance" on a "least wanted" list dominated by Muslim extremists.

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"We will want to ensure that the names disclosed reflect the broad range of cases and are not all Islamic extremists," read a draft government recommendation, marked "Restricted," that was obtained as part of Savage's libel lawsuit against the government and Smith.

Referring to Savage by his birth name, one of the e-mail messages, dated Nov. 27, 2008, from an unnamed Home Office official, says, "with Weiner, I can understand that disclosure of the decision would help provide a balance of types of exclusion cases."

Savage had earlier accused Smith of having plucked his name out of a hat because he was "controversial and white." The e-mail revelations add weight to Savage's charge.

Savage told WND at the time the Home Office chose him to balance the list of Muslim extremists because he is Jewish.

"The name Dreyfus comes to mind. They have attempted to destroy my reputation to avoid offending those Muslims who want to destroy them! The Warsaw ghetto comes to mind, where some Jews threw other Jews into Gestapo hands to live another day," he said at the time.

"Make no mistake about this – they 'chose' me because I am the only talker in the top five who is Jewish! The old anti-Semitic strain has resurfaced in England, not among the right wing, but on the socialist left. This should galvanize every member of the U.S. media, but will it?"

Another e-mail, previously released under FOI, points to complicity by other agencies and even Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

"HO [Home Office] intend to include Weiner in their quarterly stats ... Both the FS [foreign secretary] and PM [prime minister] are firmly behind listing and naming such people," it reads.

The internal e-mail communications include a message from an unnamed civil servant whose cautions were ignored.

"I think we could be accused of duplicity in naming him," he wrote without explaining the reason. But, noting a possible mitigating factor that could quell any controversy, he added, "The fact that he is homophobic does help."

Savage's case notes Smith's office said in a press release that the "controversial daily radio host" is "considered to be engaging in unacceptable behavior by seeking to provoke others to serious criminal acts and fostering hatred which might lead to inter-community violence."

The allegations are "entirely false," Savage's complaint asserts.

"At no time has our client provoked or sought to provoke others to commit crimes or serious criminal acts."

Savage hosts the nation's third most popular radio talk show, with an estimated 8 million listeners a week on about 400 stations, according to his syndicator, the Talk Radio Network.

On his website, Savage appealed to his listeners to contribute to his legal fund, which he has used for various efforts, including a lawsuit last year against the Council on American-Islamic Relations for waging a boycott using excerpts of his copyrighted remarks. In the case of Savage's U.K. ban, however, CAIR has sided with Savage, arguing "freedom of speech is a two-way street."

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