Labour as ‘anti-semitic as the Tories’

Miriam Margolyes has said Labour is no more anti-semitic than any other party in the UK.

The Bafta-winning actress and activist has spoken about accusations of anti-jewish sentiment within Labour, which she accepts is a real problem.

But she claimed that the difficulty of anti-semitism is not reserved to Labour alone andthatotherpoliticalgroups, including the Conservative Party, suffer from the same issue.

The stage and screen star, who is from a Jewish background, has said while the problem of anti-semitism is a real one, it is not as widespread as has been reported.

Margolyes also criticised Prime Minister Theresa May when she spoke at the venue of her latest project.

She said: “I don’t think there is any more anti-semitism in the Labour Party than there is in the Tory party or any of the other parties. Does it exist? Yes it does. Is it as widespread as people say? No it isn’t.”

The actress said that society needs “more love and kindness” and that “everyone wants to be happier”. She hopes her family-friendly project, a puppet show entitled Where Is Peter Rabbit?, will offer light relief from politics.

She said: “It’s true and it’s joyous and it’s beautiful to look at – none of which can be said of Theresa May.”