Corbyn ally suspended in anti-semitism row
One of Jeremy Corbyn’s closest allies has been suspended from Labour in a row over anti-semitism after a backlash against the party’s refusal to sanction him. Just weeks after the Labour leader insisted that Chris Williamson was “not anti-semitic in any way”, the MP for Derby North was last night placed under investigation for claiming that the party had been “too apologetic” in its handling of anti-jewish racism. Dozens of senior Labour MPS had lined up against him.
ONE of Jeremy Corbyn’s closest allies has been suspended from Labour in a row over anti-semitism after a furious backlash against the party’s refusal to sanction him.
Just weeks after the Labour leader insisted that Chris Williamson was “not anti-semitic in any way”, the MP for Derby North was last night placed under investigation for claiming the party had been “too apologetic” in its handling of anti-jewish racism.
It came after video footage of Mr Williamson was unearthed by the Yorkshire Post on Tuesday, in which he claimed Labour had “given too much ground” and had allowed itself to be “demonised as a racist, bigoted party”.
He told an event in Sheffield, hosted by Momentum, that when a Labour MP quit last week in protest over anti-semitism, he celebrated outside her office and sang Celebration by Kool & The Gang.
Yesterday, a Labour spokesman initially told reporters Mr Williamson would remain in the party pending investigation, in a move that provoked an outcry from Jewish leaders and MPS.
Although the spokesman insisted Mr Williamson had “rightly apologised and withdrawn his remarks”, the response was branded “not good enough” by Tom Watson, the party’s deputy leader, who warned Mr Corbyn that had it been in his hands he “would have removed the whip from him already”.
Then, as the list of MPS lining up to condemn Mr Williamson grew, Mr Corbyn was accused of wading in and attempting to prevent his suspension.
One MP told The Daily Telegraph that Mr Corbyn had “personally intervened” to stop firmer action being taken, while Siobhain Mcdonagh, the MP for Mitcham and Morden, told the Huffington Post: “Jeremy did all he could to personally defend him.” A Labour spokesman denied the claim.
The statement was seized upon by Theresa May, who told MPS at Prime Minister’s Questions: “If Jeremy Corbyn wanted to take action against racism in his party he’d suspend Williamson immediately.”
In the hours that followed Mr Watson was joined by dozens of senior Labour figures, including Ed Miliband, Harriet Harman and Sadiq Khan, in calling for an immediate suspension.
Their demands were echoed in a letter sent by 38 Labour MPS to Jennie Formby, the party’s general secretary, warning there could be “no half measures when dealing with any form of racism”.
The letter, signed by Mr Corbyn’s former leadership rivals Yvette Cooper and Owen Smith, added: “It is completely inconsistent to claim to be opposed to racism and then claim that it is possible to go too far when tackling anti-semitism.”
In the face of a mounting backlash, a Labour spokesman contacted reporters shortly after 5pm to confirm that Mr Williamson had been suspended.