SUSPENSION AFTER LABOUR DROPS ELECTION HOPEFUL
Safia Ali was removed as a director of Scottish Government- funded Wellbeing Scotland on Thursday pending an investigation.
The charity took action after it emerged Labour had withdrawn its support for her bid to become MP for Falkirk at the December 12 General Election.
It came after allegedly anti- Semitic social media posts, understood to have been made on an old Facebook account. We l l b e i n g Scotland
Sunday Mail
declined to comment but Ali has been suspended pending a probe.
The posts, which have not been revealed, are understood to have been missed during Labour’s initial trawl of her online activity before she was selected as a candidate.
Wel lbeing Scotland provides services to children and adults who have been victims of abuse.
In an interview with the BBC’s Andrew Neil on Tuesday, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn insisted there is no place for anti-Semitism within the party and said those guilty of anti- Jewish racism had been “brought to book”.
The Scottish Tories suspended their Glasgow Central candidate Flora Scarabello last week over accusations she used “anti-Muslim
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language”. The Conservatives also suspended Ryan Houghton, their candidate for Aberdeen North, over allegations he made anti- Semitic, Islamophobic and homophobic comments.
Scottish Labour general secretary Michael Sharpe confirmed that the party had withdrawn its support for Al i. But her name wi l l sti l l appear on the ballot paper because she was removed after the close of nominations.
The SNP has also withdrawn its support for a candidate over anti-Semitism claims.
Neale Hanvey had been due to contes t the K i rkca ldy and Cowdenbeath constituency, running against Scottish Labour’s deputy leader Lesley Laird.
Ali did not respond to requests for a comment left at another charity at which she is listed as chief executive.