Cage responds to the Telegraph's "How Amnesty lost its way"

London — The Telegraph's article "How Amnesty lost its way" by Nicole Lampert references Cage's senior director Moazzam Begg, Gita Sahgal's 2010 departure from Amnesty International, and Michael Gove's 2024 remarks in the House of Commons. We have written to the Telegraph to correct the record, and set out our position here.

Regarding Gita Sahgal, her 2010 allegations against Moazzam Begg were disputed in detail at the time. The two had met only once before the row, on a BBC Radio 4 panel in 2006, where, as Begg has written, Ms Sahgal "responded unexpectedly by saying she had no quarrel with my analysis." Her public account in 2010 did not reflect that history. The full statement is linked here.

On Michael Gove: his 2024 remarks named Cage as part of a proposed definition of extremism that was non-statutory, created no legal powers, and never resulted in any finding against Cage. It was opposed by a wide range of civil liberties organisations at the time, in a joint statement.

We have asked the Telegraph for a correction and a right of reply.

[ENDS]

Additional links: 

• Correspondence with Richard Kerbaj, The Sunday Times, 7 February 2010
• Victoria Brittain, "Dangerous game: a reply to Gita Sahgal and her supporters," openDemocracy

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