Brown: Corbyn has to change
Blunt warning as Labour leader is engulfed in fresh storm over anti-Semitism
Gordon Brown delivered a blunt warning to Jeremy Corbyn yesterday as the Labour leader found himself engulfed by fresh criticism over the anti-Semitism crisis.
In a significant intervention, the former prime minister told Mr Corbyn he had ‘to change’ and said the issue was a ‘running sore’ that had to be dealt with immediately.
He demanded Labour endorse the internationally-accepted definition of antiSemitism in its entirety – something Mr Corbyn has so far refused to do, leading to a row within the party.
And in the wake of the Munich graves furore, he refused the opportunity to endorse Mr Corbyn as a ‘fit and proper person’ to be the country’s leader.
Last night, it was claimed that Labour was preparing a partial climbdown and would amend its anti-Semitism code of conduct to align with the International Holocaust remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism.
But in a twist that is likely to generate further anger, this would be contingent on the party finding a way to include ‘protections’ that allow for criticism of Israel’s creation. Labour reportedly hopes to settle the issue before its party conference at the end of September. Some MPs have condemned its failure to adopt the full IHRA definition of anti-Semitism.
The Labour party has been mired in controversy after the daily Mail published pictures of Mr Corbyn at a Tunisian ceme- tery in 2014 where members of Black September – the terror group which carried out the 1972 Munich olympics attack on Israeli athletes – are buried.
As the storm surrounding the Labour leader showed no signs of abating:
Fertility expert Lord Winston, a Jewish Labour peer, said Mr Corbyn was not competent to lead his party and that it was at risk of becoming unelectable because of the way he has handled the anti-Semitism crisis;
Ankie Spitzer, the widow of one of the victims of the Munich olympics terror attack, fencing coach Andrei, accused the Labour leader of hypocrisy and demanded he apologise;
Edward Hudson, 72, who competed for Britain at the Munich Games said Mr Corbyn ‘condones’ the massacre and is unfit to be prime minister.
Mr Brown was appearing at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, where he was asked if he thought Mr Corbyn was a ‘fit and proper person’ to be prime minister.
He did not directly answer, merely saying: ‘Jeremy Corbyn has got to change. He cannot sustain particularly what he is saying about the international agreement on what we do in our attitudes to both the Holocaust and to Israel.
‘I predict to you that’s going to change within a few weeks. I believe that it will change but even that will not be enough. You have got to show by your actions not simply by saying some words that you understand the deep hurt that has been caused.’
Mr Brown added: ‘We have a problem in Britain, we have a problem not just with Islamophobia and not just with racism against the black community. We have a problem within the Labour party with anti-Semitism and it has got to be dealt with.
‘Within a month, within a few days we have to approve the international recommendations about how we deal with questions about the Holocaust and it’s absolutely central to the progress of a democratic society that is tolerant and liberal that a party like the Labour party comes out strongly against any antiSemitism within the far right.’
Yesterday Mr Corbyn’s office said that at the Tunisian cemetery he ‘did not lay any wreath at the graves’ of anyone accused of being behind the 1972 Munich massacre.
The Labour leader has also reiterated his condemnation of the ‘appalling’ attack in Germany, which saw 11 Israeli athletes and a police officer killed.
on a visit to Corby in northamptonshire, Mr Corbyn said: ‘What happened in Munich was a disgrace and appalling and all of us condemned it at that time.
‘I laid a wreath on behalf of many of us who were worried and concerned at the number of people – civilians, children – who were killed when Israel attacked the PLo centre and houses around it in 1985.’
‘Deep hurt that has been caused’