Morecambe Fringe resists MP's calls to cancel controversial Jeremy Corbyn film

Screenings of a controversial film about Jeremy Corbyn will go ahead in Morecambe despite calls to cancel them by a Jewish community group and the town's MP.

The Morecambe Fringe has added a second screening of 'Oh Jeremy Corbyn: The Big Lie' due to popular demand.

The film will be shown at the West End Playhouse in Morecambe on Wednesday and Thursday.

David Morris, MP for Morecambe and Lunesdale, says the documentary about the former Labour leader is "abhorrent" and has called for the Morecambe screenings to be cancelled.

The chief executive of the Jewish Representative Council of Greater Manchester and Region called the film "grossly offensive" and said it "has the potential to incite racism towards British Jews".

But Norman Thomas, of filmmakers Platform Films, said claims that the film was antisemitic were “a total smear” and had no foundation “whatsoever”.

And Matt Panesh (below), from Morecambe Fringe, said the film has "the right to be shown" and that he supported "freedom of expression within the confines of the law".

Mr Panesh said he had received an email from the Campaign against Antisemitism's (CAA) Director of Investigations and Enforcement who asked him to cancel the screening of the film.

"I responded that unless the film was illegal we would show it, it has the right to be shown," he said.

"If it can be defined as hate speech, then the law, and by extension, the legal system is in place to deal with it.

"As the producer of a Fringe Festival I am not the arbiter of taste. Fringe shows can be outrageous, shocking, borderline indecent, sometimes even boring, but always legal.

"The Edinburgh International Festival which in turn gave rise to the Fringe Festival was born out of the ashes of conflict and the Second World War to foster cultural exchange and restore a common humanity. Different points of view and the right to self expression are part of that goal of understanding, the right to see, hear, and agree or differ are fundamental to that right within certain parameters.

"Those parameters are set out for us.

"We have and follow the rule of law. And people have the right to expression, the right to see it and judge for themselves, and also, if it's not to their taste, or they find it offensive, they have the right to peacefully protest against it.

"It's not unusual for Fringe festivals to be in this position.

"A case in point, earlier this week we had a Pantomime Dame reading children's stories. There were and are people who think that Pantomime Dames shouldn't read stories to children, so they decided to protest the event and did so quite peacefully, with no disturbance.

"In short I support freedom of expression within the confines of the law, coupled with the right to peaceful protest."

The Morecambe Fringe is a festival of performance, poetry, theatre, cinema, comedy and spoken word, taking place with regular events until the end of July, centred around the Playhouse on Yorkshire Street.

Mr Panesh said Thursday's screening of the film has sold out, so a second screening was added on Wednesday.

On Monday, Marc Levy, chief executive of the Jewish Representative Council of Greater Manchester and Region, issued a statement calling for Morecambe Fringe to cancel the showings.

"I would strongly urge the Morecambe Fringe to follow the Glastonbury Festival and several other venues who have taken the decision to cancel The Big Lie," said Mr Levy.

"The film is grossly offensive and has the potential to incite racism towards British Jews by blaming them for Jeremy Corbyn's defeat.

"These are dangerous conspiracy theories that will inevitably lead to hostility towards Jewish people across the region.

"We hope that the organisers listen to our concerns as they would any other minority community."

The council was established in 1919 and is a body "responsible for representing, protecting, uniting, defending and serving the Jewish community of Greater Manchester and the surrounding regions".

David Morris, MP for Morecambe and Lunesdale (pictured below), backed their calls, saying: "I am extremely disappointed that Morecambe Fringe Festival is giving a platform to antisemitic racism.

"The film and the supporters of Jeremy Corbyn continue to peddle the myth that antisemitism in the Labour party was invented, that is untrue. 

"The Equality and Human Rights Commission found that the Labour Party committed unlawful acts of harassment and discrimination against Jewish members.

"It is wholly wrong to promote a film which publicises voices who have been suspended and discredited and gives them a platform to promote invented conspiracy theories that do nothing but to seek to indoctrinate individuals against Jewish communal organisations.

"This is not what Morecambe is. We are a tolerant and welcoming community and racism has no place in our society. I would urge the organisers to reconsider showing this abhorrent film which has no place in Morecambe and urge them to speak to members of our Jewish community to better understand the hurt that perpetuating the myths contained within this film has caused."

Mr Corbyn (pictured below) was the Labour Party leader from 2015 to 2020, and candidate in the 2017 and 2019 General Elections.

The film, produced by Platform Films, aims to challenge accusations of antisemitism made against Mr Corbyn throughout his political career, claiming to “explore a dark and murky story of political deceit and outrageous antisemitic smears”.

The film was set to be shown at the Glastonbury festival in June.

But it was cancelled after Marie van der Zyl, president of the Jewish communal organisation the Board of Deputies, wrote to the festival organisers and said it would be "profoundly sinister" for it to be shown at the event.

She said she understood the film "seeks to suggest that organisations such as the Board of Deputies of British Jews, of which I am the president, somehow helped to 'orchestrate' Jeremy Corbyn's downfall as Labour Party leader".

Announcing the cancellation of the screening, a Glastonbury festival statement said it believed organisers booked the film in "good faith, in the hope of provoking political debate".

"It's become clear that it is not appropriate for us to screen it at the festival. Glastonbury is about unity and not division, and we stand against all forms of discrimination."

Footage later emerged showing a group of people watching the film in a tent at the festival.

An Equality and Human Rights Commission investigation found in 2020 "significant failings in the way the Labour Party has handled antisemitism complaints over the last four years" finding "specific examples of harassment, discrimination and political interference" and "a lack of leadership within the Labour Party on these issues".

Sir Keir Starmer, leader of the Labour party, vowed after the report was published that there would be "zero tolerance" to antisemitism under his leadership.