‘People let down by party’s handling of Israel row’
‘THE people of Rochdale have been let down’ by Labour’s handling of the Rochdale by-election, Andy Burnham has said.
The Greater Manchester Mayor, speaking on BBC Radio Manchester, also said he was ‘stunned’ to ‘read the comments’ of his party’s candidate, Azhar Ali.
He was recorded making comments at a meeting suggesting Israel allowed its citizens to be killed to give it the go-ahead to invade Gaza.
After they came to light, Labour leadership initially stood by their man, who took the nomination in the by-election as leader of Lancashire County Council.
However, on February 12, the party withdrew its support for Mr Ali, who will still appear on the ballot paper as the Labour man due to by-election rules meaning the party could not change its candidate.
Quizzed on the situation on the ‘In The Hotseat’ programme on local radio, the Mayor said: “I was stunned when I read the comments, as I have known him for 20 years. When I was in the Home Office as a minister, Azhar was an adviser to the minister and often spoke out against antisemitism and often spoke up for the Jewish community.
“I wouldn’t have appeared on a platform or provided an endorsement if I had known about them. They still feel totally out of character to me, but that’s not to make an excuse. It was right to take action and withdraw support.”
Ultimately, Mr Burnham said the ‘people of Rochdale’ were ‘let down’ by the party’s handling of the situation.
He said: “This is not a time to make excuses, I think there has to be some serious collective reflection by the Labour Party on this.
“The people of Rochdale have been let down by this because they have not been given the choice of candidates they should have had at an important by-election.
“It’s unprecedented, I can’t remember a similar situation in my career.
“I think it’s a really unfair outcome for the people of Rochdale - they should have been entitled to expect better from the Labour Party.”
Mr Ali has apologised ‘unreservedly’ for his comments.
He said in a statement: “I apologise unreservedly to the Jewish community for my comments which were deeply offensive, ignorant, and false.
“Hamas’ horrific terror attack was the responsibility of Hamas alone, and they are still holding hostages who must be released.
“October 7th was the greatest loss of Jewish life in a single day since the Holocaust and Jews in the UK and across the world are living in fear of rising antisemitism. I will urgently apologise to Jewish leaders for my inexcusable comments.
“The Labour Party has changed unrecognisably under Keir Stramer’s leadership, he has my full support in delivering the change Britain needs.”