Islamic Forum of Europe categorically denies the Telegraph’s claim that it hired a Newham Council venue “in the name of a body called TELCO, the East London chapter of the community organising group London Citizens”.

This is a completely fabricated claim made by its London Editor, the infamous Andrew Gilligan, on his Telegraph blog (17/01/2011). Mr Gilligan’s unjustifiable laziness in relying on the notorious blog Harry’s Place, instead of proper journalism, has once again resulted in a claim which is completely baseless. Had he bothered to check, either through a Freedom of Information request to Newham Council, or asked IFE for comment, he would have discovered the true facts.

We shall be publishing the evidence in due course. Mr Gilligan needs to explain how it is ever justifiable to publish claims, without verifying the facts first. The Telegraph also needs to decide how much longer it will offer patronage to a pseudo-journalist who has a history of making false claims.

Due to the serious nature of this false allegation, and the distress caused to the organiser (IFE member) who has effectively been accused of fraudulent misrepresentation – we are exploring the options available and will be issuing a further statement soon.

IFE press release, 19 January 2011