MP accused of anti-Semitic jibe over ‘puppet master’ Desmond

A LABOUR frontbencher was accused of anti-Semitism last night after describing a Jewish businessman as a “puppet master”.

Steve Reed, the shadow communities secretary, promptly deleted a tweet in which he asked: “Is billionaire former porn baron [Richard] Desmond the puppet master for the entire Tory cabinet?”

But Andrew Percy, a Conservative MP, who has campaigned against antiSemitism, claimed that Mr Reed adopted an “age-old anti-Semitic trope” of alluding to Jews as puppet masters. He called for Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader to “sack Steve Reed on the spot”.

It is understood that Sir Keir was planning to take no further action after Mr Reed, who had made no reference to Mr Desmond’s religion, removed the post last night. A Labour source said: “Steve deleted the tweet and that was the right thing to do.” A source close to Mr Reed said: “Steve ... did not mean to cause any offence.”

Mr Desmond, the former owner of the Daily Express and Daily Star newspapers, is currently at the centre of a row over the Government’s approval of his application to build 1,500 homes in east London on the site of the Westferry Printworks.

Mr Reed was responding to a report that, while a backbencher, Priti Patel, the Home Secretary, lobbied for a relaxation of lottery rules that would have benefited Mr Desmond’s Health Lottery, after the pair met privately. Mr Reed has been leading Labour’s attacks on Robert Jenrick, his Conservative opposite number, who approved the development application.

The incident came after Sir Keir sacked Rebecca Long-Bailey, his shadow education secretary and an ally of Jeremy Corbyn, for sharing an article containing an “anti-Semitic conspiracy theory”. The Labour leader said Ms Long-Bailey’s actions had undermined his efforts to rebuild relations with the Jewish community.

Describing his action over Ms LongBailey, Sir Keir said last month: “I wanted her to take her tweet down straightaway and that didn’t happen. And in the end I asked her to stand down from the shadow cabinet.”

Mr Percy said: “If Keir Starmer was serious about tackling anti-Semitism, he would sack Steve Reed on the spot.

“Otherwise, the British people will rightly conclude the action taken against Rebecca Long-Bailey last week was done out of political convenience rather than principle.”

‘If Keir Starmer was serious about tackling antiSemitism, he would sack Steve Reed on the spot’