Labour in meltdown over anti-Semitism
Party discipline chief quits after she opposed suspending activist who posted vile Facebook link denying Holocaust
LABour was in meltdown over anti-Semitism last night after its disciplinary chief resigned for opposing the suspension of an apparent Holocaust denier.
Christine Shawcroft, who was only appointed in January, stood down after it emerged that she had emailed colleagues to demand the activist be let back into the party.
The activist, Alan Bull, a Labour candidate for Peterborough Council, had been suspended for posting a link on Facebook to a fake news article titled: ‘International red Cross report Confirms the Holocaust of Six Million Jews is a Hoax.’
It was accompanied with a picture of the famous gates of Auschwitz, with the phrase ‘Arbeit Macht Frei’ [work sets you free] replaced with ‘Muh Holocaust’. This phrase is apparently used by opponents of Israel to allege that whenever anyone criticises it to a Jewish person, they will start talking about the Holocaust to deflect attention.
Despite this, Miss Shawcroft, the hardLeft chairman of Labour’s disputes panel, emailed colleagues on Sunday to criticise Mr Bull’s suspension. Astonishingly, she claimed that the Facebook post was only ‘alleged to show anti-Semitism’ and said it had been taken ‘out of context’.
And she suggested he had only been suspended after having been targeted by moderates. Last night, Miss Shawcroft said she was ‘deeply sorry’ for defending the man behind the ‘abhorrent’ post – and announced she was resigning. It is believed she went after pressure from Jeremy Corbyn’s office.
The revelation places yet further question marks over how seriously Labour is taking allegations of anti- Semitism in the party. It came as Jewish groups wrote to the Labour leader to demand root-and-branch reform.
The Board of Deputies and the Jewish Leadership Council said the party must appoint an independent ombudsman to investigate claims of anti-Semitism.
As the crisis threatened to engulf the party:
Labour MPs who attended Monday’s anti-Semitism rally in Westminster were deluged with hate mail for ‘standing with Tory Jews’;
Moderate MP John Woodcock said he was considering quitting the whip in protest at the party’s direction under Mr Corbyn;
The leader’s official Facebook page is full of messages describing anti-Semitism claims as a ‘smear’.
In her statement last night, Miss Shawcroft said: ‘I sent this email before being aware of the full information about this case and I had not been shown the image of his abhorrent Facebook post.
‘Had I seen this image, I would not have requested that the decision to suspend him be re-considered. I am deeply sorry for having done so. This week we have seen a clear expression of the pain and hurt that has been caused to Jewish members of our party and the wider Jewish community, and by the reality of anti-Semitism being denied and downplayed.’
Yesterday the Mail revealed Labour was dealing with at least 74 allegations of anti-Semitism.
Mr Bull was suspended on Thursday, nine months after posting the offensive article on Facebook. The suspension means he cannot stand in the local elections for Peterborough Council in May.
He claims he had only posted the page to ‘provoke discussion’. A day after the suspension, the issue of anti-Semitism returned to the headlines when it emerged that Mr Corbyn had defended the artist of an anti-Semitic mural.
Two days later, on Sunday, Miss Shawcroft emailed senior Labour figures to question the suspension of Mr Bull. A director of Momentum, she took over as chairman of the Labour Party’s disputes subcommittee in January – ousting a moderate. She wrote: ‘I am concerned to hear about the suspension of Alan Bull.
‘The original complaint, a Facebook post taken completely out of context and alleged to show antiSemitism, was received by the party almost a year ago; yet Mr Bull has been suspended just in time to stop him standing in the Peterborough… elections.’
She wrote that he had a chance of winning the council seat and that ‘elements’ of the local party wanted him suspended and added: ‘I think we should reinstate his membership.’
Last night the Board of Deputies and the Jewish Leadership Council condemned threats to MPs who highlight the hatred of Jews.
They outlined six pre-conditions before they meet Mr Corbyn – including cases being ‘ brought to a swift conclusion under a fixed timescale’.
The letter said: ‘An independent, mutually agreed ombudsman should be appointed to oversee performance, reporting to the Party and to the Board of Deputies and Jewish Leadership Council.’
Mr Corbyn was called on to take ‘personal responsibility’ that the changes are implemented.
Among the messages describing anti-Semitism cases as a smear was one by Annie Macfarlane. She wrote: ‘ This is just a vicious slur in the lead up to the council elections. The genuine people know the truth.’
‘Clear expression of the pain and hurt’