Corbyn ally to keep her job despite Israel row

A KEY ally of Jeremy Corbyn will keep her frontbench post despite supporting a boycott of Israeli goods in defiance of Labour policy.

Shadow international development secretary Kate Osamor posted a message on Twitter apparently backing the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement.

The BDS movement, which urges consumers not to buy Israeli goods and puts pressure on firms and institutions to pull money out of Israel, is seen by some as anti-Semitic.

Miss Osamor’s tweet comes just weeks after shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry described boycotts of Israel as ‘bigotry’. Miss Osamor’s message contained a link to a post by the Institute for Middle East Understanding, with the added comment: ‘BDS movement – freedom, justice, equality.’

A Labour spokesman said her position was not at risk, adding: ‘You don’t necessarily consult everybody before you put out a tweet.’

But Tory MP Andrew Percy said: ‘The fact that a Labour MP should endorse this sort of hate and bigotry is really worrying.’