Conservative peer to pay ‘substantial damages’ after wrongly accusing student of antisemitism

Melika Gorgianeh

Baroness Jacqueline Foster made absurd claims on X, formerly Twitter, about a toy octopus chosen as the mascot of a game show team from Oxford University, which she called a “disgusting antisemitic symbol”.

Her remarks singled out one of the four team members — Melika Gorgianeh, a second-year astrophysics PhD student at Christ Church — and also wrongly claimed that she was wearing the colours of the Palestinian flag.

Baroness Foster went on to say that Ms Gorgianeh should be “expelled” by her university and “arrested” by the police.

The episode was aired on 20 November 2023, i.e. after the Hamas attacks on 7 October, but recorded in March 2023.

Ms Gorgianeh instructed Zillur Rahman of Rahman Lowe Solicitors and barrister Zac Sammour of 11 KBW to bring a claim for libel and harassment against Baroness Foster.

An apology published on Baroness Foster’s X page today accepts that her allegations were “completely false and unfounded”.

Mr Rahman, Ms Gorgianeh’s solicitor, said: “It is obvious, but worth emphasising, that statements made by a person in a position of power, authority and respect, carry far greater weight and are liable to have a far greater impact than those made by less prominent figures.

“Baroness Foster holds a DBE, and as a lifetime peer, she is quite literally a member of the ruling class of British society. Members of the public would expect a person in her position to make serious allegations only when there is a sound basis for doing so.

“The very many people who read the Baroness’ post would therefore have believed that our client was antisemitic and guilty of criminally deploying Nazi propaganda.

“It is deeply disturbing that once again, we see a senior figure in UK politics, a peer of the House of Lords no less, attacking and weaponising antisemitism against a young female Muslim student in this way.

“Baroness Foster’s apology, and her payment of substantial damages, goes some way to healing the damage that she has caused to our client.”