Labour candidate’s anti-whites slur
Candidate who wished Tony Blair and Israeli PM dead in ANOTHER race storm
A LABOUR candidate who said she would ‘celebrate’ the death of Tony Blair was condemned yesterday by the neighbouring constituency’s veteran MP.
Former paymaster general Geoffrey Robinson, who has held Coventry North West since 1976, said Zarah Sultana’s comments were ‘utterly reprehensible’.
The Labour MP’s condemnation came as it emerged that Miss Sultana has also used racial slurs. The 26-year-old, who is standing for Coventry South, referred to a Jewish student as ‘YT’ – from the slang ‘whitey’, and often used to disparage white people.
Miss Sultana came under fire on Monday after it was revealed that she said she would ‘celebrate’ the deaths of Mr Blair and Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu. She also wrote of her support for ‘violent resistance’ by Palestinians.
Yesterday Miss Sultana, who is also parliamentary officer for the campaign group Muslim Engagement and Development – which allegedly promoted extremism – was accused of making racist remarks while a student at Birmingham University.
In one Facebook post about a Jewish student, Miss Sultana wrote: ‘I can’t believe this YT thinks she can represent us.’ In 2015, Miss Sultana, who sat on the national executives of both Young Labour and the National Union of Students, posted on Twitter: ‘Yay, the white woman didn’t win the Ethnic Minorities Officer Election!’
It also emerged that Miss Sultana had previously criticised the police and the monarchy. In 2014, she posted: ‘Can we get rid of the monarchy while we’re fighting the establishment and its institutions? Viva la revolucion!’
In 2015, she tweeted: ‘Solidarity with those protesting in London right now. Keep safe from the thugs that are the police.’
Mr Robinson said: ‘I condemn in the strongest terms the comments made by Zarah Sultana... it is utterly reprehensible for any Labour candidate in Coventry to justify violence and celebrate the death of world leaders.
‘I believe these comments bring the Labour Party into disrepute and therefore urge the Labour Party and Miss Sultana to think carefully about what is in the interests of the Labour Party.’ The Labour Party has refused to comment on the reports of despite the anti-Semitism crisis engulfing the party. Last night Miss Sultana apologised for her posts but refused to stand down as a candidate. She said: ‘Criticism of Israel is, of course, not anti-Semitic in and of itself... I wholeheartedly condemn anti-Semitism – whether it is propagated by the far-Right, or tolerated and unchallenged by some on the Left. As an anti-racist campaigner and a Muslim, I’m committed to fighting racism in all its forms and I know that these forms are interconnected and must be fought collectively. ‘For me, the liberation of my Jewish comrades from the scourge of anti- Semitism is indivisible from my own liberation.’ However, last night it emerged that Miss Sultana had previously accused Labour colleagues of ‘weaponising’ anti-Semitism. The Politics Home website uncovered a Facebook post from 2016 which read: ‘The Labour Right are scum and genuinely make me sick. Is there any form of discrimination that they won’t weaponise to politically point-score like they’ve done in the past with anti-Semitism?
‘Probably racism [because] y’all got a serious deeply-rooted racism problem... and Islamophobia [because] y’all ain’t even discreet about disliking Muslims.’ Senior
‘Utterly reprehensible’ ‘Ruin Jeremy’s chances’
Labour figures piled in to condemn Miss Sultana, a paid employee of Labour, who supports the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions campaign against Israel.
Independent MP Ian Austin, who resigned from Labour in February 2019, said: ‘How on earth has Labour chosen someone who said she would “celebrate” deaths of Tony Blair and Netanyahu to stand for Parliament?’
Former Labour MP Michael Foster added: ‘[She] will ruin Jeremy’s chances of becoming PM. Just go and take your poison with you.’
But Shadow Brexit Secretary Keir Starmer refused to condemn Miss Sultana for the posts.
On BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Mr Starmer said: ‘I honestly don’t know the details of who said what when. I think every candidate should uphold the values of the Labour Party and that’s very important to me and to all of the candidates that are standing.’