13-02-2010, 07:20 PM
Nick Clegg fires 'distasteful' LibDem frontbencher over Haiti organ-trafficking claims
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 12:25 AM on 13th February 2010
A Liberal Democrat frontbencher was sacked today after calling for an inquiry into allegations that Israeli soldiers in Haiti had been involved with organ-trafficking.
Party leader Nick Clegg removed Baroness Tonge as a LibDem health spokeswoman in the House of Lords, describing her remarks as 'wrong, distasteful and provocative'.
It is the second time she has been fired for making controversial comments about Israel.
![[Image: article-0-009012711000044C-180_468x326.jpg]](http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/02/13/article-0-009012711000044C-180_468x326.jpg)
The latest row followed accusations in the online Palestine Telegraph - of which Lady Tonge is a patron - that members of the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) had been harvesting body parts in the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake.
She subsequently told the Jewish Chronicle: 'To prevent allegations such as these - which have already been posted on YouTube - going any further, the IDF and the Israeli Medical Association should establish an independent inquiry immediately to clear the names of the team in Haiti.'
![[Image: article-0-03C4F4BC000005DC-628_233x423.jpg]](http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/02/13/article-0-03C4F4BC000005DC-628_233x423.jpg)
Fellow Lib Dems were said to have complained to Mr Clegg about her comments.
In a statement issued this evening, the leader said the peer 'apologises unreservedly'.
He said: 'Following discussions with the Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords, Lord McNally, I have decided that Jenny Tonge will stand down as Liberal Democrat health spokesperson in the Lords following her unacceptable comments suggesting an inquiry into highly offensive allegations against the IDF humanitarian operation in Haiti.
'The comments were wrong, distasteful and provocative and I recognise the deep and understandable distress they have caused to the Jewish community.
'While I do not believe that Jenny Tonge is anti-semitic or racist, I regard her comments as wholly unacceptable. Jenny Tonge apologises unreservedly for the offence she has caused.'
Lady Tonge was a Lib Dem MP between 1997 and 2005, when she entered the Lords.
She has regularly run into controversy for her critical stance towards Israel.
In 2004, she was sacked as a LibDem spokeswoman on children's issues after suggesting she could consider becoming a suicide bomber.
Then leader Charles Kennedy dropped her after she told a pro-Palestinian meeting in Westminster: 'If I had been a mother and a grandmother in Palestine living for decades in that situation, I don't know, I may well have become one myself.'
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1250708/Liberal-Democrat-leader-Nick-Clegg-fires-distasteful-Baroness-Tonge-Haiti-organ-trafficking-claims.html#ixzz0fRQhO97B
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 12:25 AM on 13th February 2010
A Liberal Democrat frontbencher was sacked today after calling for an inquiry into allegations that Israeli soldiers in Haiti had been involved with organ-trafficking.
Party leader Nick Clegg removed Baroness Tonge as a LibDem health spokeswoman in the House of Lords, describing her remarks as 'wrong, distasteful and provocative'.
It is the second time she has been fired for making controversial comments about Israel.
Baroness Tonge has been sacked over her controversial comments about Israeli soldiers in Haiti
The latest row followed accusations in the online Palestine Telegraph - of which Lady Tonge is a patron - that members of the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) had been harvesting body parts in the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake.
She subsequently told the Jewish Chronicle: 'To prevent allegations such as these - which have already been posted on YouTube - going any further, the IDF and the Israeli Medical Association should establish an independent inquiry immediately to clear the names of the team in Haiti.'
Mr Clegg said Baroness Tonge's comments were 'wrong, distasteful and provocative'
Fellow Lib Dems were said to have complained to Mr Clegg about her comments.
In a statement issued this evening, the leader said the peer 'apologises unreservedly'.
He said: 'Following discussions with the Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords, Lord McNally, I have decided that Jenny Tonge will stand down as Liberal Democrat health spokesperson in the Lords following her unacceptable comments suggesting an inquiry into highly offensive allegations against the IDF humanitarian operation in Haiti.
'The comments were wrong, distasteful and provocative and I recognise the deep and understandable distress they have caused to the Jewish community.
'While I do not believe that Jenny Tonge is anti-semitic or racist, I regard her comments as wholly unacceptable. Jenny Tonge apologises unreservedly for the offence she has caused.'
Lady Tonge was a Lib Dem MP between 1997 and 2005, when she entered the Lords.
She has regularly run into controversy for her critical stance towards Israel.
In 2004, she was sacked as a LibDem spokeswoman on children's issues after suggesting she could consider becoming a suicide bomber.
Then leader Charles Kennedy dropped her after she told a pro-Palestinian meeting in Westminster: 'If I had been a mother and a grandmother in Palestine living for decades in that situation, I don't know, I may well have become one myself.'
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1250708/Liberal-Democrat-leader-Nick-Clegg-fires-distasteful-Baroness-Tonge-Haiti-organ-trafficking-claims.html#ixzz0fRQhO97B