Labour MPs in rally with activists accused of hate
V THREE LABOUR MPs will be taking part in a rally this weekend alongside controversial activists who have faced multiple allegations over their behaviour, the JC can reveal.
Former Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott MP, former Shadow Justice Secretary Richard Burgon MP, and Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP — joint chair of Labour’s Socialist Campaign Group — are listed as speakers for the World Against Racism rally on Saturday, organised by Stand Up To Racism.
They will speak alongside former Corbyn ally and Union czar Roger McKenzie, who was referred last November to the Labour Party for alleged antisemitism; David Rosenbeg, a member of the Jewish Socialists’ Group, who supports Chris Williamson; and activist Marwan Muhammad, who has links to the controversial pressure group Cage, which has been accused of having terrorist sympathies.
A further speaker, German politician Christine Buchholz, who has spoken in defence of Hamas and Hezbollah, was dropped from the lineup following questions from the JC.
The MPs’ appearance at the rally alongside figures who downplay the party’s antisemitism scandal will increase pressure on Labour leader Keir Starmer to provide a tough response.
The event is one of scores being held online for UN Anti-Racism Day and has been billed as leading the fight against “Racism, Islamophobia, Antisemitism and Fascism”.
Among the other speakers is Labour peer Peter Hain, a prominent anti-apartheid campaigner in the 1980s, who said he was “unaware” of the full platform of speakers but defended his decision to attend. He told the JC: “The threat of racism against Jewish, black and Muslim Britons is very serious with attacks against all three groups of our citizens coinciding to an unprecedented degree.
“That’s why I am speaking at the rally. I was unaware of the other invitees but strongly support the IHRA definition and have always fought against antisemitism, including during Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership in the Labour Party.”
Marwan Muhammad, a French-Egyptian author and activist, appeared last December in a panel discussion organised by Cage, a Muslim advocacy group widely accused of having sympathised with terrorists.
Meanwhile, Unison’s assistant general secretary, Roger McKenzie, who is billed to speak ninth, was referred last November to the Labour Party because of his alleged antisemitism.
Labour Against Antisemitism lodged a complaint against Mr McKenzie, a Corbyn supporter, for sharing social media posts in 2013 that compared
Israel’s treatment of Palestinians to the Holocaust, and suggesting in 2018 that antisemitism allegations in Labour were a “political football to smear those against austerity”.
In 2019, the union official, who lost out in his bid to become Unison general secretary, shared a post that said: “Isn’t it odd. No-one gave a s**t about antisemitism before Jeremy Corbyn was elected leader… except Jeremy Corbyn.”
Mr Mackenzie has strongly denied the posts were antisemitic, but stands accused of breaching Labour party rules of conduct.
Another speaker, David Rosenbeg, is a member of the Jewish Socialists Group. He insisted in a Facebook post in 2019 that Labour “should be more self-confident and less apologetic” because it had “done more than any other party to tackle the scourge of antisemitism”.
Mr Rosenberg leapt to the defence of Unite general secretary Len McCluskey after he came under fire for downplaying the scale of Labour’s antisemitism crisis in an article for the New Statesman.
He also praised Chris Williamson as a man of “energy drive and determination to fight against oppression”.
In a 2019 Facebook post, Mr Rosenberg conceded the comments that led to Mr Williamson’s suspension “were not brilliantly phrased” but added: “he has expressed regret about that”.
In a joint statement last night, Ms Abbott and Ms Ribeiro-Addy said: “We are not aware these individuals are speaking at this event.”