LABOUR AT WAR

Corbyn admits 300 claims of anti Semitism Official who quit in Holocaust row STILL rules on complaints

LABOUR was at war with itself last night after it emerged that the resignation of a party official over anti-Semitism was a sham.

Christine Shawcroft stood down as chairman of Labour’s disciplinary panel on Wednesday night after the Mail revealed she had opposed the suspension of an apparent Holocaust denier.

The activist, Alan bull, 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’.

but yesterday it emerged she would continue to sit on the panel, meaning she will still be able to pass judgment on people accused of anti-Semitism.

Last night, Labour MPs said that Jeremy Corbyn could only prove he was serious about tackling his party’s anti-Semitism problem if he sacked Miss Shawcroft from its ruling National Executive Committee. Some MPs went further – saying she should be expelled from the party altogether. On another day which rocked Labour:

Mr Corbyn revealed that 300 claims of Labour anti-Semitism had been received within the past three years, leading to 150 resignations or expulsions;

Labour’s outgoing general secretary Ian McNicol accused the leader’s office of blocking measures to get tough on anti-Semitism;

It emerged Jennie Formby, his hard-left successor had received the email from Miss Shawcroft demanding Mr bull’s suspension be reversed – but took no action;

Another Labour member, Marianne Tellier, was suspended for tweeting a photo of a Job Centre sign replaced with the words ‘Arbeit Macht Frei’ – the message on the gate of Auschwitz; and

Some 2,000 activists signed an open letter blaming the antiSemitism row on a ‘very powerful special interest group’.

Miss Shawcroft emailed colleagues on Sunday to request the lifting of the suspension of Mr bull. Among the recipients were Miss Formby, Labour’s new general secretary; and Jon Lansman, the head of Momentum. but neither of them intervened to criticise the fact that Miss Shawcroft was speaking out in support of an apparent Holocaust denier. Labour sources also admitted that although she had resigned as chair, she would still be able to sit on the disputes panel.

They claimed that Mr Corbyn did not have the power to expel her from the NEC. A petition has been launched by Richard Angell, the director of the blairite think-tank Progress, calling for Miss Shawcroft to immediately resign.

Ruth Smeeth, a Jewish Labour MP who sits for Stoke-on-Trent North, said that stepping down as chair was ‘not enough’. She said. ‘Christine Shawcroft should not be on our NEC.’ Labour MP Ian Austin agreed: ‘Of course she shouldn’t be on our NEC.’ Others went further, including John Mann, a Labour MP who tweeted: ‘She needs expelling instantly.’ He added that she should also be sacked as the director of the Corbyn-backing campaign group Momentum. Jewish groups also weighed in. Jennifer Gerber, director of the Labour Friends of Israel, said: ‘Christine Shawcroft should be suspended from the Labour Party and kicked off the NEC.’ but Miss Shawcroft received support from another member of the NEC, Peter Willsman, who called for activists to stand in support of Mr Corbyn and the ‘unjust attacks that are being made on him and the Labour Party’.

The Jewish Chronicle also said shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott insisted the anti-Semitism crisis was a ‘smear campaign against Jeremy’. Meanwhile the Labour leader told the Jewish News: ‘Of the Labour Party cases, some of which I inherited on becoming leader, there’s been 300 references since 2015, 60 are still under investigation, 24 have gone to the National Constitutional Committee, 24, roughly, went to a final warning, and 150 were either expelled or resigned.’