“President” Isaac Herzog last night entered his hotel – the Intercontinental Park Lane – through a service door and kitchens.
He did not transit any of the public areas of the hotel, where I was stationed disguised as an elderly Scottish drunk at the bar. I carried out this role with great dedication. 
It also allowed me to wander around the basement areas as a well-spoken elderly Scottish gentleman, slightly befuddled and looking for the toilet. Finding no end of lurking policemen – who were all very helpful – I was able to confirm this was indeed where Herzog was staying and a demonstration was whistled up.
Watch| Activists protested in front of the hotel where Israeli President Isaac Herzog is staying in London, demanding his arrest for his role in crimes against the Palestinian people.#Israel pic.twitter.com/p3dznsgcvm
— Al-Jarmaq News (@Aljarmaqnetnews) September 10, 2025
The demonstration was very loud and effective inside the hotel and definitely well worth doing again. The police attempted to move the demonstration away under the Public Order Act.
Greta Thunberg was acquitted last year in exactly these circumstances when charged for protesting outside this exact same hotel. The magistrate ruled that police instructions to move on were “unlawful”. That is worth remembering for the next couple of nights.
I had dashed down from Edinburgh, literally just dropping everything and heading to the station, on hearing that Herzog’s visit was starting a couple of days earlier than expected. I attended the PSC demonstration outside Downing St. Frankly it was disappointingly small – not much more than one person for every mile I had covered to get there.
The change of date, short notice and a tube strike all contributed, but I do hope protest will grow during Herzog’s three day visit. Be inspired by this precedent:
In 1848-9, Hapsburg General Julius von Haynau crushed uprisings in Hungary and in Brescia with extreme force. In Brescia about 1,000 were killed, both revolutionaries and civilians, including women and children, with widespread rape, floggings and executions.
In Hungary about 2,000 revolutionaries were killed across four “battles” and a slightly larger number of civilians were massacred, again with widespread rape, flogging and looting.
In 1850 Haynau was on a private visit to London and touring the Barclay and Perkins brewery in Southwark. He was recognised by some draymen who pelted him with refuse and chased him from the brewery, where a larger crowd joined in.
Eventually Haynau took refuge in the George Inn on Borough High Street, where he hid either in a waste bin or under a bed (accounts differ). Eventually he was rescued by the police but nobody was arrested.
Generations of schoolchildren – myself included – were taught that the Haynau incident was something to be proud of and an example of how foreign “tyrants” should be treated in London. The government of Prime Minister Lord John Russell – grandfather of Bertrand Russell – refused to prosecute the draymen, to the fury of the Austrian government.
Herzog is of course actively participating in a Genocide far worse than anything Haynau did, and was directly quoted by the ICJ as indicating intent of genocide.
Starmer is meeting Herzog today for the second time since the ICJ cited Herzog as showing intent of Genocide, and since Herzog signed bombs to drop on Gaza.
There is no diplomacy being pursued on this visit. Nor was it initiated by Starmer. It is the Israelis emphasising their control of the British Establishment, and demonstrating that they can do what they wish – commit genocide, bomb Qatar, bomb Tunisia, and much more. It is simply a visit to underline who is the boss, and that we can do nothing about it.
Let us summon the symbol of the draymen of the Barclay and Perkins brewery. It is the people, not Starmer and his corrupt, grasping clowns, who embody moral conscience.
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Nice one Craig. Hope the fcuker ends up in the garbage where he belongs.
Boy, how far have we as a nation advanced socially and morally since the dark depraved days of 175 years ago.
Thank you once again Mr Murray.
“There is no diplomacy being pursued on this visit. Nor was it initiated by Starmer. It is the Israelis emphasising their control of the British Establishment, and demonstrating that they can do what they wish – commit genocide, bomb Qatar, bomb Tunisia, and much more. It is simply a visit to underline who is the boss … ”
If this is correct, and I have no reason to doubt it, then will Jeremy Corbyn’s ‘Your Party’ be able to acknowledge it, and, if so, what would they propose to do about it?
No, they’re unlikely to find the courage. AFAIAA Jeremy Corbyn hasn’t yet pointed the finger at those who stopped him getting elected in 2019 – the same people who curiously removed another of Boris “my mother’s family controls Marks and Spencer, and I loved my free holiday in Occupied Palestine” Johnson’s earlier opponents, Ken Livingstone.
“He did not transit any of the public areas of the hotel, where I was stationed disguised as an elderly Scottish drunk at the bar.” Hey Craig, is this a part for which you have some previous rehearsals?
Great work. We need you more than ever!
https://x.com/CraigMurrayOrg/status/1965704653016039795
“I had a pretty thorough search inside for his route in the guise of an elderly drunk Scottish gentleman in a suit and tie, looking for the toilet.
A role for which I have been preparing meticulously my whole life!”
I’m wondering what happened to this “the UK will recognise the state of Palestine by the United Nations General Assembly in September unless the Israeli government takes substantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza, agree to a ceasefire and commit to a long-term, sustainable peace, reviving the prospect of a Two State Solution.”
https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/pm-words-on-gaza-29-july-2025
Have you been rootling in the Dustbin of History?
Summon the courage of the Nepalese more like.
£100 worth of whisky sounds expensive. Was it worth it, just to confirm his hotel, if you already knew? I suspect most of the demonstrators were local.
Anyway I’ve let my MP know about the photograph you’ve provided of Israel’s President signing bombs to be dropped on civilians, and that we shouldn’t connive at crimes aganst humanity.
We didn’t already know, we had a tip-off we were unsure if we could trust.
‘ In an unusually tough-worded speech, von der Leyen denounced a “man made famine” in Gaza and “a clear attempt” by Israel to “undermine the two state solution”. But she also called Europe’s inability to find a response to Israel’s actions “painful”.
France is ending all payments to Israel.
Euronews
And from Ukraine
‘ On the night of 10 September, Russia carried out a massive strike against Ukraine: around 415 drones and more than 40 missiles targeted 15 regions.
In the Khmelnytskyi region, a missile hit a sewing workshop, leaving several people injured. In the Zhytomyr region, one civilian was killed.
But this attack also crossed a new line. At least eight Iranian-made Shahed drones violated Polish – NATO – airspace. This was not a lone incident, but a coordinated incursion by strike UAVs aimed towards Poland.
Delays in sanctions and security decisions only embolden Russia. Russia must feel that its war cannot be expanded and must be brought to an end.’
Hey ho – way to go
A: “But she also called Europe’s inability to find a response to Israel’s actions “painful”. “
Wonder who made it so painful? Maybe she can think of someone who gave 100% support to this genocide, painfully obvious to anyone paying attention, from its inception, and name and shame them.
Travel bans, a full trade embargo, denial of all flight path privileges, massive sanctions, and a fully armed task force to bring aid to Gaza – that might be a good workaround to this supposed ‘inability’ to find a response.
With a reminder that an attack on any NATO country’s vessels is considered an attack on all.
If only she could find someone in a position to propose and enact some of these obvious responses?
This type of vist is only made possible because the ICC did – somehow – not include Herzog in the arrest warrant against the israelis, still Herzog was the person that claimed that there are “no innocents in Gaza” just days after october 7 and he is of course part of the very regime that conduct the genocide. It seems that ICC by design exlcuded Herzog so he could keep traveling around the world.
A citizen’s arrest would be nice.
Please watch your health Craig. According to Google A1 “Drinking four Lagavulin double whiskeys (assuming a double is 2 oz) would likely result in heavy intoxication, potentially reaching or exceeding a blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.16% to 0.20% or higher, depending on factors like your weight and metabolism. This level of intoxication is well beyond being drunk, putting you at a significant risk of alcohol poisoning and impaired function.”
Och, I was just starting!
I’ll Hic! to that.
Anecdotal, but I knew someone who drank a bottle of single malt a week and he lived to a ripe old age.
As far as liqueurs go, more of a limoncello devotee myself.
Did he drink it all in one sitting, once a week, though?
In what capacity did Blair take part in discussions to displace the 2 million population of Gaza, under the so-called ‘Trump Riviera’ plans? If involved as a private citizen, isn’t he in direct violation of UK govt policy, i.e. a two-state solution – a Palestinian state, which along with the West Bank includes Gaza. If acting in some official envoy role, on behalf of the Starmer govt, shouldn’t we know that too?
I find it shocking that they charged you 13.5% service charge and then expected a tip !
The 13.5% alone is shocking. They’re probably hoping people won’t see it as a ‘tip’, but as some obligatory charge. Absolute scam as far as I’m concerned, and becoming increasingly common.
Would it be less shocking if they just added 13.5% to all the published prices? At least the service charge is “discretionary”.
Hardly makes that clear, though. It says “Total Due”, as if there were no say about it – and suggesting you might want to tip more on top is surely deceptive.
It’s not like they’re selling it wholesale and then adding a service charge. Personally, I like it as much as the “handling fee” add-on, as if that was an exceptional add-on that you had put them to the trouble of doing.
Good undercover work Craig, I hope you are feeling ok after the in-the-line-of-duty indulgence. Wonder where Herzog and Starmer are meeting? Surely not in a laundry basket! Hope Herzog gets thoroughly intimidated on his ride to meet with Starmer. Can you call the police to alert them to the fact that the subject of an international arrest warrant is loose in London!?!? Just making it known that you want them to do their job. Make a change for them, rather than arresting placard holders opposing the genocide in Gaza!
Yesterday evening’s protest outside Downing Street seems quite well attended according to (perhaps later) this:
https://x.com/ShabbirLakha/status/1965484144634589257
Two protests planned this evening.
One at 5:30 outside Chatham House, St James Square, where Herzog is expected to speak, and a follow-up at 7:00 outside Downing Street where he is expected to have a meeting with Starmer.
“Bring your pots and pans.”:
https://www.stopwar.org.uk/
Remember, kids – the “Chatham House rule” doesn’t cover people who have nothing to do with the RIIA but who take photos of attendees entering a building to attend a war criminal’s talk.
Oh shit! You mean Herzog wasn’t included in the ICC arrest warrant!!!!
Brilliant Craig, well done.
Should note though that prime minister Lord John Russell is infinitely more notorious today – at least outside Britain – than Haynau is. A forefather of today’s western liberal genocidaires.
I take it you’re writing about John Russell’s role in the Irish Potato Famine. As long as Robert Peel and his Tories governed, government relief prevented the worst results of the failure of the potato crop. When they were replaced by Russell and laissez-faire liberals, the famine reigned unchecked.
The best that can be said in 2025 is that at least they didn’t slaughter the people as they starved.
Sir Keir Starmer has no such compunction.
“There is no diplomacy being pursued on this visit. Nor was it initiated by Starmer. It is the Israelis emphasising their control of the British Establishment, and demonstrating that they can do what they wish – commit genocide, bomb Qatar, bomb Tunisia, and much more. It is simply a visit to underline who is the boss.”
Yes indeed. The ratchet is being tightened a click.
See also the pigs’ heads outside mosques in Paris. And in Britain, the white power flags.
Quite possibly the non-sacking of Peter Mandelson can be filed under the same header. But I have an open mind on that one. “Petie” has lots of “friends” – Ariel Sharon was one, Michael Bloomberg is another. If Elon Musk wasn’t, he probably is now. Given the possibility that Jeffrey Epstein was supplying male children as well as female children, one has to wonder whether one of Mandelson’s other friends may be “another form of royalty” from himself, namely the “king”.
It’s possible Mandelson had a role in putting Starmer into the Labour leadership and then No.10.
I thought that was a certainty.
Starmer is still PM? What the hell is going on in the UK? (Nothing in today’s WaPo about political developments in the UK.)
@Lysias – Do you mean regarding Mandelson? What people forget is that Mandelson was one of Cummings’s predecessors as “prince of darkness”, and when he says there are more very embarrassing things to come out we should rest assured that he has carefully prepared what he is saying and it is almost certainly for damage limitation and expectation management. He’s not in the position of someone clasping his hand to his forehead exclaiming “Oh no, there’s more to come out about me!” as if he was talking to his bathroom mirror. He really isn’t. This guy is no fool and he understands the media, and I have no reason to think he’s weak when under pressure.
If someone wants to increase the pressure on Mandelson re. Epstein – although this isn’t the only pressure point for Mandelson – I would say ask him what he means about Epstein leaving him with ” ‘interesting’ friends” to “entertain”. Note that the inverted commas around the word “interesting” are his. What does he mean? Why be so coy? It sounds as though he could well mean underage prostitutes or sex slaves. I mean that would be an obvious guess, because we know what Epstein was doing. Y’know, rather than friends who could talk about conversations on philosophy or literature or theatre they’d been having at All Souls College in Oxford. Or scientific research, or whatever. Mandelson wouldn’t have to go to a private island in the Caribbean to meet THAT kind of type. I doubt Mandelson has many interests other than his bank balance, power over other people, and his c***.
Is there a protest planned for tomorrow [Thursday] ? I was at the protest on Saturday and learnt that there would be one. However I note today that protests were taking place against President Herzog due to his earlier than anticipated arrival but it is not clear from my review on-line if there are protests planned for Thursday.
Any info would be helpful.
Thanks.
“Israel’s long arm will act against its enemies everywhere. There is no place where they can hide.”
^ Occupation defence minister Israel Katz.
A case of nuclear-armed, baby penis-mutilating nutters who claim tribal god-promised rights to Jerusalem etc. declaring war on anyone in the world who won’t bow down to them?
This has gotta end at some point.
The white supremacist regime in South Africa wasn’t anything like this crazy.
Free clue to anyone from the Qatari emirate reading this: there isn’t going to be a unified Arab response to the Israeli attack on Qatar, or even a unified Gulf Arab response. (I will reconsider this statement if the UAE shows the Occupation the door.)
Brian Red.
I doubt they’ll do anything of any significance, they’ll wail and moan and rail but that’s about it.
“The GCC, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates have a Joint Defence Agreement, which states,
“an attack on one member is an attack on all”
A test for the Peninsula Shield Force. Will they act? now when reports are coming in that the U.S. was onboard right before the attack.”
Israel’s main news TV station Channel 12 reported that the strike in Doha failed to hit the designated targets, because Hamas leaders left to pray, leaving their phones behind, making Israeli intelligence think they were still inside.
It was also leaked, that Iranian IRGC figures were also targeted and killed based on signals intelligence; not from their own mobile phones, but those of their drivers and bodyguards.
You’d think their adversaries would wise up and spoof this targeting system into oblivion, with multiple false positives etc.
Make it so says Picard, but I doubt it will happen.
“The Metropolitan Police’s counter terrorism division has appointed a senior specialist prosecutor to “urgently” review an application for an arrest warrant against Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Middle East Eye can reveal.
MEE reported on Tuesday that Herzog, currently in London, is set to meet British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Number 10 on Wednesday evening.
On Tuesday morning pro-Palestine campaign group Friends of Al-Aqsa (FOA) instructed a legal team to apply for an arrest warrant to be issued for Herzog on “charges of aiding, abetting or procuring direct and indiscriminate attacks on civilians and civilian objects”.
The Met responded to FOA that afternoon in an email seen by MEE.
In the email, officers confirmed that “the Counter Terrorism Division received the papers relating to your request in respect of Mr Herzog.”
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/met-police-appoint-prosecutor-urgently-review-application-israeli-presidents-arrest
Am I right that heads of state when they arrive in Britain are met on the airport tarmac by a representative of the royal household, e.g. the Lord Chamberlain?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Benyon
Dunno what relevance this has protocol-wise when it’s not a state visit, but presumably there will still be some sacred feudal-type protocol?