Labour drops candidate over antisemitic posts
LABOUR HAS banned a prospective council candidate from standing for the party after an outcry over antisemitic comments she posted on social media.
Nasreen Khan, a former member of George Galloway’s Respect party, had been placed on a shortlist of two for a safe Labour council seat in Bradford.
But her candidacy received widespread condemnation after Facebook posts, written in 2012, came to light in which she claimed there were “worse people in Hitler in this world”, that “Jews have reaped the rewards of playing victims” and asked: “What have the Jews done good in this world”.
Susan Hinchcliffe, the leader of the
Nasreen Khan: apology Labour-run council, said that no one who had seen Ms Khan’s posts “can fail to be appalled by them… such comments have no place in our society”.
Ms Khan apologised, saying in a statement: “I accept fully that it was inappropriate and unacceptable. “I profoundly regret the comments I made in 2012 and any offence they caused.”
A spokesperson for the Labour Party announced that “following an investigation, Nasreen Khan has been removed from Labour’s panel of approved candidates in Bradford. Labour condemns all antisemitism in the strongest possible terms.” The spokesperson added that Labour would “take all appropriate disciplinary action in line with the party’s rule book and procedures.”
Labour declined to comment on what, if any, further action it would be taking against Ms Khan. Similar recent cases have resulted in members being suspended from the party.