Conservative MP Bob Stewart has pleaded not guilty to making racist and abusive comments to a human rights campaigner outside a Foreign Office building.
The parliamentarian, 74, who represents Beckenham in south London, is accused of telling Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei to “go back to Bahrain” during an incident on December 14 last year.
Stewart, who retained the Tory whip after being charged, was accompanied by his barrister as he faced press photographers outside Westminster magistrates court on Wednesday morning.
In the dock, Stewart pleaded not guilty to the two charges he faced, and was told he will stand trial on November 3.
Stewart is charged with racially aggravated harassment, alarm, or distress under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, and a second allegation of using threatening or abusive words or behaviour likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress.
His barrister, Paul Cavin KC, said representations have already been made to the Crown Prosecution Service - and rejected - that the MP should not face criminal charges.
“We have put all our arguments in formal language out there and we did it at an early stage, particularly our views on whether this can be said to be remotely racially aggravated given the fact Mr Stewart since the 60s has been a friend of the Bahraini people and is a long-standing friend of that country”, he said.
“We want to know why the Crown say these charges are made out.”
The allegations relate to a confrontation with Mr Alwadaei, 36, outside the Foreign Office’s Lancaster House building in Belgravia.
It is said he told Mr Alwadaei, the director of the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy, to “get stuffed” and to “go back to Bahrain” after he challenged the MP over donations from the Bahraini government.
Mr Alwadaei claims Stewart also said: “Now you shut up you stupid man” and accused him of “taking money off my country”.
The alleged victim sat in the public gallery during this morning’s hearing.
Mr Stewart, a former NATO military commander who served in Bosnia, was elected in 2010 and serves on a number of parliamentary committees, including the Intelligence and Security Committee.
He was charged by post and spoke to confirm his name, home address in Bromley, and date of birth at the start of the hearing, holding on to the metal rail at the front of the dock as he was formally identified.
Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring decided not to place Stewart on bail at all, but told him the trial could happen without him if he did not show up to court in November.
“I will be here Judge”, replied the MP.
Stewart has not faced suspension by the Conservative Party as he fights the charges.
