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Craig Murray

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Craig Murray (born October, 1958)[1] is a British political activist, university rector and former ambassador to Uzbekistan.

While in office, he accused the Karimov administration of human rights abuses, a step which, he argues, was against the wishes of the British government and the reason for his removal. Murray complained to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in November 2002, January or early February 2003, and in June 2004 that intelligence linking the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan to al-Qaeda, suspected of being gained through torture, was unreliable, immoral, and illegal.[2] He described Her Majesty's Government as "selling our souls for dross".[3] He was subsequently removed from his ambassadorial post on October 14, 2004.

Background

Murray was educated at the Paston School in North Walsham, Norfolk [4], an all-boys grammar school where he had an undistinguished record. He says he barely gained entrance to the University of Dundee. There he attended few lectures, instead reading voraciously to teach himself history. He graduated in 1982 with a MA (Hons) 1st Class in Modern History. He was President of Dundee University Students' Association, elected to this sabbatical office twice (1982-1983 and 1983-1984), an occurrence so unusual that the university court changed the rules to stop him running a third time. He was reserve member of the team that won University Challenge in 1983.[5] He spent seven years in total at the university, compared to a normal four for a Scottish first degree.[6]

He joined the civil service in 1984. Until 2002, he worked for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in Africa, apart from 1992 to 1997, when he was posted to Europe. He became head of the Cyprus section of the Foreign Office and head of the Maritime Section. He also led the Foreign Office team in the Embargo Surveillance Centre between 1990-91, responsible for analysing intelligence on Iraqi attempts to evade sanctions.[7] In 2002, he became Ambassador to Uzbekistan, and was dismissed from that post in October 2004. [1]

In July 2004, he told The Guardian that "there is no point in having cocktail-party relationships with a fascist regime," and that "you don't have to be a pompous old fart to be an ambassador." He is separated from his wife Fiona, with whom he has two children.[8]

Uzbekistan

In October 2002 Murray made a controversial speech at a human rights conference hosted by Freedom House in Tashkent, in which he claimed that "Uzbekistan is not a functioning democracy" and that the boiling to death of two members of Hizb ut-Tahrir "is not an isolated incident."[9] Later, United Nations head Kofi Annan confronted Uzbek President Islom Karimov with Murray's claims.[8]

Murray was summoned to London and, on March 8, 2003, was reprimanded for writing, in a letter to his employers, in response to a speech by George W. Bush, "when it comes to the Karimov regime, systematic torture and rape appear to be treated as peccadilloes, not to affect the relationship and to be downplayed in the international fora ... I hope that once the present crisis is over we will make plain to the U.S., at senior level, our serious concern over their policy in Uzbekistan."[10]

Discipline charges

In July 2003, some of his embassy staff were sacked while he was away on holiday. They were reinstated after he expressed his outrage to his bosses in the FCO. Later, during his holiday, he was recalled to London for disciplinary reasons. On August 21, 2003, he was confronted with 18 charges including "hiring dolly birds [pretty young women] for above the usual rate" for the visa department, though he claims that the department had an all-male staff, and granting UK visas in exchange for sex. He was told that discussing the charges would be a violation of the Official Secrets Act punishable by imprisonment. He was encouraged to resign.[8]

He collapsed during a medical check in Tashkent on September 2, 2003 and was airlifted to St Thomas' Hospital in London. After an investigation by Tony Crombie, Head of the FCO's Overseas Territories Department, all but two of the charges (being drunk at work and misusing the embassy's Range Rover) were dropped. The charges were leaked to the press in October 2003.[11] Immediately upon his return to work in November 2003, he suffered a near-fatal pulmonary embolism and was again flown back to London for medical treatment. In January 2004, the Foreign Office after a four month investigation exonerated him of all 18 charges, but reprimanded him for speaking about the charges.

Removal from post

Murray was removed from his post in October 2004, shortly after a leaked report in the Financial Times quoted him as claiming that MI6 used intelligence provided by Uzbek authorities through torture.[12] The Foreign Office denied there was any direct connection and stated that Murray had been removed for "operational" reasons. It claimed that he had lost the confidence of senior officials and colleagues. The following day, in an interview on the Today programme, the BBC's flagship political radio show, Murray countered that he was a "victim of conscience," and in this and other interviews criticized the Foreign Office.[13] A few days later he was charged with "gross misconduct" by the Foreign Office for criticizing it in public.[14] Murray resigned from the Foreign Office in February 2005.

The threat of legal action has resulted in significant publicity along with a very large number of people mirroring the documents on their own websites, releasing them via peer to peer networks, and making them available various filesharing services.[citation needed] A list of some current mirrors can be found in the post and comments at The Craig Murray Friends Blog.

Subsequent career

He has continued his opposition to the so-called War on Terror since leaving the Foreign Service. He sums up his current occupation: "Being a dissident is quite fun." [15]

He stood for parliament in Blackburn, as an independent candidate, against his former boss Foreign Secretary Jack Straw in the May 2005 general election. He polled 2,082 votes.[1]

In November 2005, he took part in the Axis for Peace Conference in Brussels.[16]

In December 2005, he published a number of confidential memos on his website, which outlined his condemnation of intelligence procured under torture, and the UK government's ambivalence to this. The British government subsequently claimed copyright over the documents and demanded they be removed. [17]

He has written a book entitled Murder in Samarkand - A British Ambassador's Controversial Defiance of Tyranny in the War on Terror.[18] This book is to be filmed by Michael Winterbottom with a script by David Hare.

A character based on him appears in the 2006 UK-U.S. television co-production The State Within, in which the former British ambassador to the fictional country of Tyrgyzstan, a hard-drinking womanizer, is embroiled in a plot to stop human rights abuses amid escalating threats of war.

On 16 February 2007 he was elected to the position of rector at the University of Dundee, his alma mater. The other nominee was former Scotland rugby captain Andy Nicol.[19] Murray opposes cuts to University departments and services which were proposed in a document drafted by a working group chaired by the outgoing Dean of the School of Engineering, Professor Michael Davies. The election saw an increase in turnout of 50% from the previous election, with Murray winning by 632 votes to 582. Coincidentally, Murray was in the same class at his secondary school as actor Stephen Fry, who also held the title of Dundee's Rector[20].

In July 2007 he was elected an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Lancaster School of Law.

Awards

In recognition of his campaigning work on torture and human rights he was awarded the Sam Adams Award for Integrity in Intelligence in the spring of 2006. [21].

In November 2006 he was awarded the Premio Alo Qualita Della Citta of Bologna [22].

Views

During an interview with Alex Jones on August 21, 2006, regarding torture and the 2006 transatlantic aircraft plot, he claimed that false intelligence on al-Qaeda plots was obtained through torture done by CIA proxies and that the intelligence gained is used as a propaganda tool.[2]

He recently expressed views on the character of Alisher Usmanov, in light of Usmanov's involement in Arsenal football club. The posting had to be removed from his web site due to intervention from Usmanov's lawyers.

References

  1. ^ a b c Craig Murray - BiographyCraig Murray
  2. ^ Extraordinary Rendition
  3. ^ The Torture Biz: Selling Our Soul for Disinfo Rubbish European Tribune
  4. ^ http://www.craigmurray.co.uk/archives/2007/05/peculiar_coinci.html
  5. ^ Old boys rise to the Challenge, University of Dundee, 27 May 2002
  6. ^ [1]
  7. ^ Memos 'prove evidence used from Uzbek secret police', Raymond Hainey, The Scotsman, 31 December 2005
  8. ^ a b c The envoy who said too much The Guardian
  9. ^ British Envoy's Speech Reverberates in Uzbekistan EurasiaNet
  10. ^ The UK Was Complicit In Torture In Uzbekistan Scoop Independent News
  11. ^ Ambassador accused after criticising US The Guardian
  12. ^ 'Torture intelligence' criticised BBC News
  13. ^ Ambassador speaks out BBC News
  14. ^ Ex-envoy to face discipline charges,says FO The Guardian
  15. ^ {http://education.independent.co.uk/careers_advice/article2024764.ece]
  16. ^ Axis for Peace - panelist Craig Murray
  17. ^ Damning documentary evidence unveiled
  18. ^ Murder in Samarkand
  19. ^ No second term for Rector Kelly
  20. ^ http://www.craigmurray.co.uk/archives/2007/05/peculiar_coinci.html
  21. ^ Sam Adams Award for Integrity in Intelligence
  22. ^ Premio Alo Qualita Della Citta of Bologna

Murray


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Preceded by Rector of the University of Dundee
2007–present 		Succeeded by
Incumbent
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