The trade union Unison has rejected a request by Trade Union Friends of Israel (Tufi) to run a stall during its annual conference in Brighton next week.

However, the union gave different reasons for the ban. Tufi has been told that the rejection was because of Israel's action in Gaza and complaints by regional members. But a Unison member who spoke to deputy general secretary Keith Sonnet was told that as the union was having three Palestinian-run stalls, there was no room for Tufi...

...Tufi has manned a stall at the Unison conference for the past four years. But this year the union's executive told Tufi director Steve Scott that it had decided not to allow the stall because of Gaza "and, they said, for our own safety". Mr Scott said: "At first they made excuses, then they said it was an executive decision after they had complaints from members in the regions about Gaza. We issued a statement about Gaza but obviously we didn't condemn Israel's actions, so they said we should not be exhibiting this year...

...I think I understand this correctly.

Unison fears that its members will carry out antisemitic attacks on Jews, if TUFI is permitted its customary stall.

Isn't this precisely the sort of thing that Nick Griffin's BNP says to ethnic and cultural minorities - "You better not turn up - for your own safety"?...