LABOUR ANTISEMITISM ROW DEEPENS AS THIRD POLITICIAN ‘SPOKEN TO’ OVER MEETING Antisemitism concern in the Labour Party deepens
A third Labour politician attended a meeting of activists at the centre of an antisemitism row within the party, Sky News understands.
Hyndburn councillor Munsif Dad, who leads the local authority’s Labour group, is thought to have been at the gathering where two parliamentary candidates are alleged to have made antisemitic remarks.
On Monday, Labour withdrew support from and suspended Azhar Ali, who is standing under their banner at the upcoming Rochdale by-election, after he allegedly blamed “people in the media from certain Jewish quarters” for fuelling criticism of a pro-Palestinian Labour MP, and claimed Israel planned to “get rid of [Palestinians] from Gaza” and “grab” some of the land during discussions at the meeting.
Then on Tuesday, former Labour MP for Hyndburn, Graham Jones – who is seeking to stand for the seat again at the next election – was suspended after allegedly referring to Israel using expetives at the same gathering, and saying UK citizens who volunteer to fight for the Israeli Defence Forces “should be locked up”.
We understand that Mr Dad has been “spoken to” by Labour officials, but it is not yet clear if he made any contribution to the meeting and no further action has been taken.
