Countdown’s Rachel given extra security over threats from Labour anti-Semites
COUNTDOWN star Rachel Riley has been given extra protection on the programme after her criticism of Jeremy Corbyn’s stance on antiSemitism resulted in her being threatened by Labour supporters.
Ms Riley, 33, who is Jewish, yesterday revealed that security at the Channel 4 studio had been increased in the face of what she claimed was ‘hideous abuse’ and physical threats from people clearly identifying as Corbyn supporters.
She said: ‘We are getting more security for Countdown. By speaking up against anti-Semitism you are a target. I don’t take it lightly.
‘The more I speak, the more abuse I get, and the more abuse I get the more I speak.
‘It’s got to the point where I can’t look at my Twitter feed any more. It’s just a constant stream.’
Ms Riley – who joined the programme in 2009 after graduating in maths from Oxford – said she had felt compelled to speak out the more she had learned about antiSemitism in Labour’s ranks.
She also said she was in no doubt about the political allegiances of her abusers. She told The Times: ‘With the hashtag Get The Tories Out or the red rose or hashtag JC4PM, they say to me, “You’re only calling out the Left.” Well, I have been attacked by people on the Left.’
One of her critics tweeted: ‘Rachel Riley is really milking this faux anti-Semitism outrage farce. Many of us see it for the b ****** s it is, a manufactured attack on anyone who dares criticise the Israeli regime’s Apartheid policies.’
Another sneered: ‘Rachel Riley proves that you can go to an elite uni and still be as thick as s***.’
Ms Riley, who last week addressed the Holocaust Educational Trust reception in Parliament, said that some of her critics had even contacted Channel 4 calling for her to be sacked. She said: ‘People have been repeatedly messaging Channel 4 saying I should be fired or arrested — that I’m a racist and a white supremacist.’
But she said she had no intention of staying quiet, adding defiantly: ‘They picked the wrong woman – whatever they throw at me, I’ll throw right back.’
Mr Corbyn, who insists he has always opposed racism, has found it impossible to distance himself from the anti-Semitism row surrounding his party. Last year, it emerged that in 2012 he had supported a mural which depicted Jewish financiers playing a Monopoly-style board game on the backs of naked people. And it later emerged he has been at a 2014 wreath laying for individuals behind the group that carried out the Munich Olympic massacre, although he insisted he was not part of the commemoration.
However, Ms Riley said she had no doubt Mr Corbyn was antiSemitic. She added: ‘It’s part of his fundamental core belief system, the overlooking of anti-Semitism in relation to his pro-Palestinian stance.’
A spokesman for Channel 4 last night said there would be an ‘increased presence’ as far as security
‘I have been attacked by people on the Left’
was concerned but declined to comment further. The Mail on Sunday understands that neither Channel 4 nor the production company which makes the programme has called in the police.
A Labour Party spokesman said: ‘Labour is committed to tackling anti-Semitism in all its forms.’