What a t*****!
Police called after pro Palestine MP insults Israeli ambassador
A LABOUR MP was questioned by police after branding the Israeli ambassador a ‘t****r’ at his party’s annual conference last week.
Graham Jones was quizzed by Merseyside Police officers after he was overheard muttering the insult at an event attended by Mark Regev, Israel’s representative in London. However, the MP – a fierce critic of Jeremy Corbyn – was only questioned by police because a passing Corbyn aide thought the jibe was aimed at her.
The woman was seen remonstrating with Mr Jones at the packed conference fringe meeting in Liverpool before police intervened.
The farcical scenes unfolded the night before the Labour leader sought to draw a line under the party’s summer- long rows over antiSemitism by vowing in his conference speech to fight discrimination against Jews.
But at the conference’s annual Labour Friends of Israel meeting, speakers – including a member of the Israeli parliament – vented their anger at the way the anti-Semitism controversy had been handled.
Mr Regev, a former spokesman for Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu, aimed a thinly-veiled rebuke at Mr Corbyn, saying: ‘From Attlee, Wilson, Callaghan and Foot, to Kinnock, Blair and Brown; Labour leaders have supported Israel’s cause precisely because it (Zionism) is an anti-racist cause.’
As Mr Regev prepared to speak, Mr Jones – who is actually a member of the rival Labour Friends of Palestine group – made clear his dislike of the ambassador.
The MP for Hyndburn in Lancashire was overheard saying ‘t****r’ as he looked on from the back of the hall.
But just as he uttered the word, an aide – who works on international relations in the Labour leader’s office – was passing. Witnesses say she thought the insult was aimed at her and challenged Mr Jones.
They were then both questioned by police outside the hall as the meeting continued before the matter was passed to on-site security officials.
Mr Jones has declined to comment on the row.
But a friend said: ‘ This woman tapped him on the shoulder to complain he had insulted her but he was talking about Regev.
‘Graham may be no fan of Corbyn but he’s a long- standing critic of Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians and he’s crossed swords with Regev before.’
Labour l ast night rebuked Mr Jones, with a source saying: ‘ It is inappropriate for an MP to use this kind of language about anyone.’ Merseyside Police said: ‘Officers policing the Labour Party Conference were made aware of a potentially offensive comment made by one member of the public to another during an event.
‘Both parties were spoken to and no offences were disclosed.’
Separately, Labour insiders claimed that officials from Mr Corbyn’s office were only at the Labour Friends of Israel meeting to ‘spy’ on which party staffers had turned up to the event.
A Labour source denied the claim.
‘Woman tapped him on the shoulder to complain’