© Steve Etherington for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd.
House of Lords peer Lord Paul Scriven says the FIA’s ‘political speech ban’ “targets Sir Lewis Hamilton, your most outspoken driver”.
Lord Paul Scriven, along with 90 European parliamentarians has sent a letter to FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem back in March, in which they accused him of “facilitating sports washing in Gulf countries”, as F1 expands to the Middle East.
Now, after the FIA announced the drivers will be forbidden from making any ‘political or personal statements’ at events sanctioned by the governing organization, Lord Scriven has sent another letter to Ben Sulayem, blasting him for this decision.
“It was with great concern that I learnt of the FIA’s decision to suppress F1 drivers’ voices from speaking out in what you deem to be political statements, a policy that will serve to shield F1 host countries from scrutiny over injustice,” Lord Scriven wrote.
“It is very clear to me that this policy targets Sir Lewis Hamilton, your most outspoken driver, whose comments on countries with abysmal rights records, particularly Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, would have undoubtedly not been well received by these corrupt and abusive regimes.”
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Scriven also revealed that Ben Sulayem never responded to the original letter.
“Almost one year has passed since you received this letter, and yet, we have not had the courtesy of your response.
“Your failure to respond to our serious concerns is deeply discourteous and unprofessional.
“Why do you think you can ignore parliamentarians? Do you think that concerns raised over human rights and the policies of the FIA should be above scrutiny?
“We wrote to you in order to raise concerns that are in the public interest, and we expect openness and transparency from the FIA,” Lord Scriven concluded.
