Fury over ‘antisemitic’ candidate

SCOTTISH Labour was condemned last night for refusing to suspend a candidate who made ‘clearly antisemitic’ comments.

Footage emerged yesterday of Jim Malone, right, the party’s candidate in Dundee West, at an anti-Israel rally in 2010. He talks about being the son of a Scots soldier ‘like many here whose fathers and grandfathers liberated Bergen-Belsen, who came home and told them tales of the horrors of Nazi regime and what they had seen’.

He adds: ‘My father also served in Palestine at the end of the war – he was a regular soldier and he also told me the disgust that he felt in the treatment of the Palestinian people by the Zionists then.

‘We must take that fight against Zionism my father saw and take that fight forward into the 21st Century through the trade union movement and onward to victory.’ A complaint was made but it is understood an internal investigation found his comments were not antisemitic. A Scottish Labour spokesman said: ‘We take all complaints of antisemitism extremely seriously. They are fully investigated in line with our rules and procedures and appropriate action is taken.’

But Maurice Golden, Scottish Conservative chief whip, said: ‘This again shows the Labour leadership both here and at UK level just isn’t serious about dealing with antisemitism.’

Euan Philipps, of Labour Against Antisemitism, said: ‘Jim Malone’s speech was unquestionably antisemitic in tone, content, purpose and intent. It was a disgraceful example of anti-Jewish hate speech. It should be leading to his immediate expulsion.’