Emily Thornberry slow to condemn antisemitic speech by Palestinian president

EMILY THORNBERRY attended a speech given by the Palestinian president which was widely decried as antisemitic, but failed to condemn or even mention his comments in her initial public statement on the event.

Mahmoud Abbas said the persecution of Jews in Europe was not the result of their religious identity but “because of their social function” in remarks which prompted international outrage.

But the shadow foreign secretary did not mention the controversial comments in a lengthy Facebook post about her attendance as Labour’s representative at the Palestinian National Council in Ramallah in the West Bank.

The Labour Friends of Israel group urged Ms Thornberry to “condemn this anti-semitic speech as a matter of upmost importance”.

Ms Thornberry later issued a statement which said the comments made by Mr Abbas were “deeply regrettable” and “not just grossly offensive, but utterly ignorant”.