Venues hiZZg XaZVg d[ Williamson

A ROW has broken out after Brighton’s Holiday Inn cancelled an event featuring the suspended Labour MP Chris Williamson and the auction of a cartoon about Israel that a national newspaper refused to publish.

The Derby North MP — suspended in February after claiming Labour had been “too apologetic” over antisemitism — had been due to speak at the event named “Chris Williamson MP: A democratic, socialist economy”.

Earlier, another venue, the Brighthelm Centre, pulled out of hosting the event following an intervention by Hove Labour MP Peter Kyle and a letter of protest signed by over 100 local campaigners.

After it was revealed the Holiday Inn Brighton Seafront had agreed to hold the event, it was bombarded with complaints.

The JC was also contacted by an angry Jewish resident who lives in one of the flats above the hotel and said they had lodged their own complaint.

The hotel then confirmed it too had decided to cancel the event.

Mr Williamson claimed on Twitter that Holiday Inn “had to cancel after two men turned up to threaten their staff.” He added: “They also had abuse on personal social media accounts and were called ‘c*nts’ on the phone.”

The MP, who faces expulsion from Labour at a forthcoming disciplinary hearing over his repeated interventions in the party’s antisemitism crisis, also circulated a message allegedly sent to the event’s organiser Greg Hadfield by the hotel’s management.

The message claimed staff had been “subjected to abuse and threats” and that they had cancelled the event because “guests and employees” would be put “at potential harm”.

Mr Hadfield has previously been suspended from Labour himself over allegations of bullying and intimidation. In May, he was accused of supporting a suspended Labour candidate who had posted a series of antisemitic tweets.

The event was also due to host the auction of a cartoon by Steve Bell that the Guardian refused to publish last month. It depicts Labour deputy leader Tom Watson as an “antisemite finder general” for being critical of Jew-hate in the party.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday Ruth Smeeth MP, the JLM parliamentary chair, said Mr Williamson’s plans to speak at fringe events during Labour conference next month were “inappropriate on every level”. Mr Williamson is not expected to receive a security pass to the main conference.