THE GUARDIAN

Nicholas Watt, political correspondent
Friday January 23, 2004
The Guardian

Charles Kennedy was last night considering whether to sack a frontbencher who said that she would think of becoming a suicide bomber if she lived in the Palestinian territories.

Jenny Tonge was summoned to explain her comments to the Liberal Democrat chief whip after telling a Westminster rally that the daily "killings and the bulldozings and all the other horrible things" in the occupied territories made her understand why people became suicide bombers.

Dr Tonge, the spokeswoman on children, told a meeting of the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign on Wednesday: "This particular brand of terrorism, the suicide bomber, is truly born out of desperation.

"Many many people criticise, many many people say it is just another form of terrorism, but I can understand and I am a fairly emotional person and I am a mother and a grand mother, I think if I had to live in that situation, and I say this advisedly, I might just consider becoming one myself. And that is a terrible thing to say."

Amid a chorus of condemnation, Mr Kennedy distanced himself from Dr Tonge's remarks. A party spokesman said: "Jenny Tonge was expressing her personal views. The Liberal Democrats do not condone terrorism in any circumstances whether by suicide bombers or anybody else."

Dr Tonge was summoned to a meeting "as soon as possible" with the chief whip, Andrew Stunnell. The party leadership was minded to sack her as a sign of its disapproval but a clear expression of regret by Dr Tonge may save her.

A spokeswoman for the Israeli embassy said such remarks would inflame the conflict by encouraging militants to become suicide bombers.

"We were shocked to hear these remarks which were extremely disgraceful. We would not expect any human being - and surely not a British MP - to express an understanding of such atrocities. Her words show something about her moral standards."

James Purnell, chairman of the Labour Friends of Israel, said: "Having sat down with people who have lost children, mothers and fathers to suicide bombers and to military action in the West Bank I am really appalled by what Jenny Tonge has said. "There is real suffering on the Israeli side and on the Palestinian side. British parliamentarians should be helping to find a way out of the conflict."