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7/7 was an MI5 plot, Holocaust denier claims in BBC film
Robert Mendick and Jonny Paul, Evening Standard10.06.08
The BBC paid expenses to a disgraced academic who has pestered families bereaved by the 7/7 bombs, claiming the attacks were an intelligence agency plot.
Nicholas Kollerstrom was paid by the corporation for his part in Conspiracy Files, a documentary about theories surrounding the terrorist outrage.
He has admitted he phoned the father of one victim to tell him how he believed the man's daughter's body had been planted at the site of the Tavistock Square bus bombing. The victim's family has described the phone call and subsequent claims posted on a website as "very upsetting".
He has also been accused of pestering relatives of victims and survivors of 7/7.
Dr Kollerstrom believes the four bombers who murdered 52 people almost three years ago were "innocent patsies", set up by a combination of the British, US and Israeli secret services.
Dr Kollerstrom was last month stripped of an honorary research fellowship at University College London after it emerged he had written a paper entitled The Auschwitz "Gas Chamber" Illusion on a far-Right website - claiming it was like a holiday camp where inmates sunned themselves by an "elegant" swimming pool and listened to orchestras.
Sean Cassidy, 60, whose 22-year-old son Ciaran was killed in the blast at Russell Square Tube, said today: "It is appalling the BBC are paying this man's expenses. They should not be giving him a platform.
"This programme is disgraceful and we can do without it. The families are aware of this man but have been trying to avoid him. He has caused a lot of upset."
John Taylor, whose daughter Carrie died at Aldgate, said: "For the BBC to actually fund somebody like this is totally disgraceful. One or two families have been sent nasty videos of conspiracy theories and it is not very nice. He is helping the terrorists more than anything and I am not happy with the BBC giving him a platform."
The BBC has paid an undisclosed sum in expenses to Dr Kollerstrom, who is believed to have a PhD in astronomy, for his part in the BBC 2 programme. A spokesman for the corporation confirmed Dr Kollerstrom had been paid expenses for such things as rail travel but not a fee and added: "The BBC's Conspiracy Files series investigates whether there is any truth to the many conspiracy theories which have grown up around terrorist attacks. Nicholas Kollerstrom has advanced a number of theories about these attacks which will be investigated in detail by the BBC."
Dr Kollerstrom, 61, from Belsize Park, said the corporation had paid his expenses for trips to Leeds, where he attempted to meet the family of the 7/7 ringleader Mohammad Sidique Khan and relatives of the other bombers.
Dr Kollerstrom took flowers to the parents of Aldgate bomber Shehzad Tanweer but they refused to see him.
Dr Kollerstrom denied he was harassing the bombers' victims but admitted he was wrong to phone the father of one victim who died at Tavi-stock Square, to explore his theory that the victim may not have been on the No 30 bus at all.
The ex-academic said: "It was wrong to do that but somebody urged me to do it because they said it was vital information. I raised the question 'was she on the bus?' and the family were very upset because they are convinced she was on the bus... I just don't know.
"It is a possibility this victim was not on the bus and her body was placed besides the wreckage at a later time."
Dr Kollerstrom stood by his claims of a conspiracy surrounding the attacks and said: "I have always felt these four lads were very non-violent by nature and didn't want to harm anybody and I am not convinced they did it."
Reader views (7)
Here's a sample of the latest views published.
The conspiracy theorists who have been picking away at the details, trying to find something to justify their beliefs, are being outflanked by the further details, evidence and confessions now emerging at various trials. As App says, one witness described the carriage floor being forced up, photographs clearly show the main force was downwards, but some of the floor surface was finally left sticking up. This is the sort of misinformation the conspiraloons specialise in. Nicholas Kollerstrom has a bad reputation even among those of them who specialise in July 7 (J7 researchers) for the very poor quality of his "research", no doubt reflecting his "research" on the Holocaust, which leads him to declare that no German ever put a Jew in a gas chamber. A dishonest and repulsive individual, but a hero of the ironically named 9/11 truth movement.
- Chris, London, UK
What is missing from the conspiracy argument is the motivation of the perpetrators. What did the security services, the police and all the other hundreds of people who must have been involved in the cover up seek to gain through the attack? Secondly, why is it so impossible for conspiracy theorists to believe that the bombers were guilty? Is this because any scenario where the UK or US government and its citizens are victims instead of aggressors is unacceptable to their world-view? Finally, it does seem interesting that a holocaust denier is so investing in a theory that blames Israel for the attacks. Not all conspiracy theories are anti-Semitic in origin but it certainly seems that this one is.
- Joe, London UK
There is some evidence that the train the bombers were supposed to have travelled on was in fact cancelled. If nothing else this needs to be clarified.
- Terry Martin, Hertford
As a Londoner who travels regularly on the tube I too believe we have been lied to about the events of 7/7. Not one single witness say any of the alleged bombers and no cctv footage has been made public. Despite London being the most heavily photographed city in the world.
- Lee Hawkins, london, UK
This guy is pure scum and the BBC should disband itself in disgrace for giving him a mouthpiece and paying him expenses. Words fail me, they really do.
- Jason, New York, USA
Just because you have an academic background doesn't mean you can do more than memorize a book. This man is an idiot.
- Rich, San Angelo USA
Thing is with the 7/7 attacks one witness clearly described the hole in the bottom of the carriage with upturned metal as if the bomb had been placed underneath the train or on the track. Another described the train jumping off the tracks. Regarding the bus bomb the cctv was curiously out of action. Like WTC7 that collapsed without being hit by a plane there are curious anomalies in the 7/7 attacks that have never been answered. In addition the war criminal Tony Blair refused a public inquiry. The only people who ever gain from terror attacks are the security services and government trying to push through legislation. In this case the identity card bill was pushed through. It's a no brainer.
- App, London
