I have never been a wife beater, says Labour MP
YASMIN QURESHI ‘A FEW PEOPLE ARE PURSUING THEIR LITTLE VENDETTAS’ JESS PHILLIPS ‘I NEED A HOLIDAY FROM ONE-SIDED NONSENSE AND HATE’
THE row over the Labour MP accused of ‘ wife- beating’ took a new turn last night after he denied using violence – and women MPs who backed the alleged victim were accused of a ‘vendetta’ against Jeremy Corbyn.
The male MP declared: ‘ I am not a wife- beater,’ and said the claims were ‘malicious, upsetting and untrue’.
He broke his silence following the disclosure in The Mail on Sunday l ast week t hat women Labour MPs had called on Mr Corbyn to suspend the MP over claims that he repeatedly attacked his wife.
The MP spoke out yesterday after Jess Phillips, chairman of the Women’s Parliamentary Labour Party (WPLP), wrote to Mr Corbyn after a private Commons meeting attended by former deputy Labour leader d Harriet Harman.
The MP, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told this newspaper: ‘I wholly deny the allegation that I am a “wife-beater”.
‘I have never been involved in any form of domestic violence or abuse and I abhor violence of any kind. This allegation is not true, seriously defames me and runs against everything I believe in.’
There was no evidence to support the claim, he said, adding he was worried at the ‘concern’ it could cause his family and constituents.
The demand by the WPLP to Mr Corbyn to suspend the MP pending an investigation into the claims sparked a fierce counter- attack last week by one of the Labour leader’s senior allies.
Shadow Justice Minister Yasmin Qur es hi, who helps over see Labour’s law and order policies, accused fellow women Labour MPs of using the dispute to undermine Mr Corbyn.
Barrister Ms Qureshi said in a WhatsApp group used by women Labour MPs: ‘It’s time to acknowl- edge that there are MPs, male and female, WHO JUST WANT to destroy JC and current Labour Party. This little stunt is proof that they are not concerned about the woman, but to have a go at JC and party.
‘ The country needs a Labour govt. However, [a] few people are pursuing their little vendettas.’
The Bolton MP last night said she ‘did not comment on the contents of private WhatsApp conversations’.
But a fellow woman Labour MP condemned her ‘stunt’ remark as ‘beneath contempt’.
Meanwhile, Ms Phillips showed signs of strain over Labour feuding in a tweet before she started a late Easter holiday.
She made no reference to Ms Qureshi’s WhatsApp message but tweeted: ‘I’m off with my kids for a few days and I shall turn off Twitter too, I need a holiday from hate and one-sided nonsense gloating.’
Labour confirmed last night that Mr Corbyn had replied to Ms Phillips but declined to reveal the contents of his letter. However, party sources repeated that without a formal complaint against the MP concerned, it was difficult for the party to take action against him.
Anti-Semitism is proving ‘absolutely catastrophic’ for Labour, Mr Corbyn was warned yesterday.
Playwright Sir David Hare accused some in the party of believing t hey could be both anti-racist and ‘offensive to Jews, as if they were in a separate racial category’.
However, he excused the party leadership, saying he did not think they were ‘remotely anti-Semitic’.
The remarks come ahead of a planned protest outside Labour’s London HQ today over claims the party is not doing enough to root out anti-Jewish hate in its ranks.
CORBYN FACES NEW REBELLION OVER ‘WIFE BEATER’ MP