Corbyn crony’s ‘kick the traitors out’ tour
THE Left-wing MP who defended Jeremy Corbyn over the Palestinian terrorist wreath-laying row has been accused of touring Britain in a bid to sack up to 20 ‘saboteur’ Labour MPs who have criticised the Party leader.
Derby North MP Chris Williamson ignored eight attempts by BBC Newsnight’s Evan Davis last week to say if Mr Corbyn laid a wreath at the graves of Black September terrorists linked to the 1972 Olympics massacre of Israeli athletes.
Moderate Labour MPs have accused ‘menacing’ Mr Williamson of attempting a ‘Staliniststyle purge’ to pave the way for more hardline Left-wing MPs. He is promoting his Corbynista ‘mandatory reselection’ tour with a video of him on a Harley-Davidson motorbike and the Hell’s Angels rock anthem Born To Be Wild soundtrack.
Among the ‘targets’ of Mr Williamson tour, which he described as a ‘democracy roadshow,’ are many anti-Corbyn MPs who have spoken out in the anti-Semitism row. They include Chuka Umunna, Luciana Berger, Ruth Smeeth, John Woodcock and Thangam Debbonaire.
Mr Williamson visited Labour activists in Ilford, East London, last week – an area represented by two Labour MPs, Wes Streeting and Mike Gapes, who have spoken out strongly against Mr Corbyn.
He launched a blistering attack in Ilford on anti-Corbyn Labour MPs, accusing them of ‘indulging in coups and smears’.
He added: ‘If it were not for the serial saboteurs we would have won the last Election.’
Mr Williamson did little to counter claims by some MPs that he is also using the trip to promote his own bid to succeed Mr Corbyn. He told Ilford Labour activists: ‘At some point, Jeremy will step down and we have to have a robust system in place to make sure members have the right to choose a socialist.’
His tour started in July, with an early visit to Redcar, where local Labour MP Anna Turley is a known Corbyn critic. It ends in September, including a visit to Rotherham – represented by Labour MP Sarah Champion, who was forced to quit the Shadow Cabinet after making controversial comments about Pakistani men and grooming.
Mr Williamson has denied he is on a ‘deselection tour’ and said: ‘If MPs are serious about representing our movement they obviously have nothing to worry about.’ But he has also lashed out at ‘Labour MPs who think it’s their God-given right to rule’.
After the Salisbury nerve agent attack in March, Mr Williamson branded Labour MPs who backed Theresa May’s tough response to the Kremlin ‘political enemies’. His tour is designed to lead up to next month’s Labour conference where Mr Corbyn’s allies hope to change Party rules to ensure the Party always has a Left-wing leader.
‘Serial saboteurs cost us the last Election’