Oxford Union president who celebrated Charlie Kirk death makes defiant claim before confidence vote

[00:00] Oxford Union President-elect George

[00:02] Abber on faces a pivotal moment as he

[00:04] confronts a vote of no confidence after

[00:06] leaked messages surfaced in which he

[00:08] appeared to celebrate the death of

[00:09] American political activist Charlie

[00:11] Kirk. According to messages leaked to

[00:14] the press, Abber on wrote in a WhatsApp

[00:16] group, "Charlie Kirk got shot. Let's

[00:18] effing go." And in a separate message on

[00:20] Instagram, "Charlie Kirk got shot, lol."

[00:23] The remarks rapidly spread online,

[00:25] triggering fierce backlash and calls for

[00:27] Abber's resignation from both inside and

[00:29] outside of Oxford. I'm just saying as

[00:32] somebody who still loves the Oxford

[00:33] Union as an institution that defends

[00:36] free speech that you cannot be the

[00:39] president of the Oxford Union at the

[00:42] same time as reveling in the political

[00:45] assassination of the people you invite

[00:48] to speak at it. It is simply impossible

[00:51] for him to take over in the I think it's

[00:53] 3 weeks time he takes over. For him to

[00:56] take over as president of that

[00:58] institution, he has to resign.

[01:00] >> In response to mounting criticism,

[01:02] including demands for expulsion from the

[01:04] former prime minister Liz Truss, Abra on

[01:06] appeared on the what's left podcast to

[01:08] address the controversy.

[01:09] >> There have been many calls on both

[01:11] sides. You know, some have called for my

[01:12] resignation. Some have some of many have

[01:15] called for me to stay. You know, there's

[01:16] been large scale support statements that

[01:18] have come out. And at the end of the

[01:20] day, I'm at the behest of the

[01:21] membership. You know,

[01:22] >> he later went on to add, "If the

[01:24] membership want to see me continue, then

[01:26] I would love to continue, but I'd be

[01:28] gutted if I couldn't carry on. I think

[01:30] it would be a massive loss for me, for a

[01:32] lot of people to see that capitulation

[01:33] to online pressure." Referring to the

[01:36] backlash after the news of his remarks

[01:37] came to light, he said, "The first

[01:39] couple of days were so difficult.

[01:41] Suddenly, you're hated. I had a lot of

[01:42] people hurling abuse at me, people

[01:44] turning up at my parents' shop. I was

[01:46] low-key scared to leave the house for

[01:48] days on end. It's really difficult."

[01:50] Abber on also criticized the scrutiny

[01:52] from public figures like Elon Musk and

[01:54] Liz Truss, describing it as insane and

[01:56] accused those on the right of

[01:57] weaponizing cancel culture. I don't want

[01:59] this to be the end for me. I had big

[02:01] aspirations of wanting to improve the

[02:02] world around me. Facing the threat of

[02:04] direct action from Turning Point UK, the

[02:07] organization founded by Charlie Kirk,

[02:09] Abber on is under more pressure. We're

[02:11] living in a time of what feels like

[02:13] pretty significant social change. And it

[02:16] makes us question things that we've even

[02:20] taken for granted for decades. And one

[02:22] of those at the moment that people are

[02:24] wondering about is actually money. Is

[02:27] the money in your bank account safe?

[02:29] Should you be investing elsewhere? Are

[02:32] we looking at a potential global crash?

[02:35] What will it mean for your savings? Is

[02:37] there a way that you could be using your

[02:39] money that might be outside of

[02:41] government control even? Well, Tally

[02:44] Money is potentially one solution. So,

[02:47] I'm delighted to say that I'm joined

[02:49] today by the CEO and founder of Tally

[02:52] Money, Cameron Perry. What is Tally

[02:54] Money?

[02:55] >> Well, at Tally Money, you basically get

[02:57] gold you can spend. So, we give people

[02:59] an individual uh account in their name,

[03:01] everyday account. They get a sort code,

[03:03] an account number. They use that account

[03:05] just like they would pounds from their

[03:07] bank, but uh it's milligrams of gold

[03:09] that we brand as tally.

[03:11] >> Okay. Why would you do that though? What

[03:13] is the benefit to the customer instead

[03:16] of just having a normal pound sterling

[03:18] account?

[03:18] >> Gold's performance against the pound is

[03:21] above 11% peranom over the last 25 years

[03:24] on average. But we still need money in

[03:26] our daily lives and we we have savings.

[03:28] We know that it's good common sense and

[03:30] prudent to save up for things, not just

[03:32] living credit. you know, whether it's a

[03:34] holiday or a rainy day, uh your

[03:36] retirement planning, you need to have

[03:38] money in your life, basically that you

[03:41] can rely on that's dependable, that

[03:42] nobody meddles with, that nobody can

[03:44] weaponize against you, which is another

[03:46] element of government control when it's

[03:47] the government currency, which we could

[03:49] talk about another time, and it should

[03:51] be pretty simple and straightforward,

[03:52] and that's what we deliver at Tally. Um,

[03:54] and really, we just want people to feel

[03:56] safe and happy with their money. There

[03:58] was a time when the bigger your bank

[04:00] balance, the the more confident you

[04:01] felt. Now it's like I need to do

[04:03] something with it. I can't leave it

[04:05] there. In tally you can.

[04:07] >> Okay. Brilliant. Cameron Perry from

[04:09] Tally Money. Thank you so much.

[04:10] >> Thank you babe.

[04:24] If Mr. Abber on remains the new

[04:26] president, we will be forced to begin a

[04:28] direct action campaign against the

[04:29] Oxford Union. It took us nine protests

[04:31] to permanently shut down an

[04:32] inappropriate drag queen story hour in

[04:35] 2023. We reckon it would take us less

[04:37] than five to shut down the Oxford Union.

[04:39] There must be consequences for those who

[04:41] celebrate and call for our deaths.

[04:43] Freshly back from his peace deal visit

[04:45] to the Middle East, President Donald

[04:47] Trump posthumously awarded Charlie Kirk

[04:49] the Presidential Medal of Freedom,

[04:51] recognizing him as a martr for truth and

[04:53] commending his impact on conservative

[04:55] youth organizing

[04:56] >> for living his faith and relentlessly

[04:58] fighting for a better and stronger

[05:01] America. They love this country. And

[05:03] that's why this afternoon, it's my

[05:05] privilege to posumously

[05:07] award Charles James Kirk, our nation's

[05:10] highest civilian honor, the Presidential

[05:14] Medal of Freedom. Thank you.

[05:23] As you know, only hours ago, I returned

[05:26] from a very historic trip to secure

[05:29] peace in the Middle East. People said

[05:31] that couldn't be done. Charlie felt it

[05:32] could be done.

[05:35] Charlie felt it could be done.

[05:40] >> Thank you.

[05:42] In a parallel move, the US State

[05:44] Department announced that it had revoked

[05:45] six visas from foreign nationals

[05:47] identified as celebrating Charlie Kirk's

[05:49] death on social media. They cited the

[05:51] country has no obligation to accommodate

[05:53] foreigners who wish death on Americans.

[05:56] So far, at least 150 Oxford Union

[05:58] members have signed a motion that

[05:59] triggered the vote of no confidence,

[06:01] which is set to take place this weekend

[06:03] with all members eligible to

[06:04] participate. The outcome will determine

[06:07] not just Abber on's future, but deeply

[06:09] affect the union's reputation as one of

[06:11] the world's foremost debating societies.

[06:13] Wider university and public reaction has

[06:16] also been strong. The Oxford Union

[06:18] issued a statement emphasizing, "We

[06:20] unequivocally condemn the reported words

[06:22] and sentiments attributed to Mr. Abber

[06:24] on. These views are his own and do not

[06:26] reflect those of the union or the values

[06:28] of our institution. Oxford University

[06:30] commented that the union is independent

[06:32] and condemned any remarks seemingly

[06:34] promoting violence whilst also

[06:36] indicating that disciplinary action

[06:37] remains outside of their jurisdiction.

[06:39] Avar later deleted the contested posts

[06:42] and expressed regret. In statements to

[06:44] multiple outlets, he said, "No one

[06:46] should be subjected to political

[06:47] violence. Whilst I may have had

[06:49] significant disagreements with Mr.

[06:51] Kirk's political stance. We all deserve

[06:53] dignity and death, and I offer my

[06:55] sympathies to his family and loved ones.

[06:58] He also argued that some of the outrage

[06:59] towards him has been selective, stating,

[07:02] "The irony is not lost on me that many

[07:04] of those now threatening violence and

[07:05] hurling abuse towards me and towards

[07:08] people who look like me have shown no

[07:10] interest in holding Charlie Kirk to the

[07:12] same standard when he mocked children

[07:13] killed by gun violence or excused the

[07:16] deaths of women and children abroad."

[07:17] The controversy has divided the Oxford

[07:19] community. Some students and groups

[07:21] including Oxford stand up to racism

[07:24] issued statements supporting Abberon and

[07:26] called the backlash a racist witch hunt

[07:28] whilst others have argued that his

[07:30] behavior showed poor judgment and has

[07:32] brought the union into disrepute.

[07:34] Current and former members of the union

[07:35] have criticized both the celebratory

[07:37] remarks and the backlash. The situation

[07:39] has also exposed divisions over free

[07:41] speech and acceptable standards in

[07:43] British university life. Threats,

[07:45] harassment, and intimidation have

[07:46] reportedly affected students on both

[07:48] sides of the conflict. With the vote of

[07:50] no confidence looming, the Oxford Union

[07:52] is now under international scrutiny,

[07:54] facing questions about the boundaries of

[07:56] free expression, the role of social

[07:58] media in shaping reputations, and the

[08:00] responsibilities of student leaders in

[08:02] public life. The result of the vote this

[08:04] weekend will set a precedent not just

[08:05] for the union, but for how academic

[08:07] societies across the country handle

[08:09] misconduct, political division, and the

[08:11] consequences of online speech.