Labour could stand a candidate against former party leader Jeremy Corbyn, Keir Starmer has signalled.
The Labour leader said he was on a mission to prevent Labour being linked to anti-Semitism for good - and did not rule out putting forward a candidate in Mr Corbyn's seat at the next election.
Mr Corbyn was suspended from Labour in October 2020 over his reaction to a damning report on handling of allegations of anti-Jewish hate within the party's ranks.
He has represented Islington North since 1983 but he would have to stand as an independent candidate if he fails to regain the whip by the next election.
Mr Starmer was pressed on his predecessor's future by the Mirror as he hit the campaign trail ahead of next month's Birmingham Erdington by-election.
Asked how he planned to ensure Labour upheld the values he hoped to roll out across the country, Mr Starmer said: “I said I would tear anti-Semitism out of the party by the roots in my acceptance speech.
“We have been doing that and we have made progress on it.”
Pressed on whether that would include standing a Labour candidate in Mr Corbyn’s seat, Mr Starmer said: “Well, Jeremy Corbyn doesn’t have a Labour whip at the moment.
“That’s the position he finds himself in, and it’s down to the response he made to the report on anti-Semitism.”
It follows claims Mr Corbyn could be deselected by the party in his safe seat of Islington North, which he has held since 1983.
It is understood he plans to stand at the next general election, whether it is for Labour or as an independent candidate.
Mr Starmer also promised he is taking allegations of Islamophobia as seriously as anti-Semitism.
“There is absolutely no hierarchy here," he said.
“We have to root out Islamophobia in just the same way as we'd have to root out anti-Semitism.
“And we do it with the same determination and energy. And I'm absolutely as prepared to take tough decisions on Islamophobia as I am on anti-Semitism.”
Asked if he had spoken to Labour MPs concerned by the issue, he said he “talked to all of our MPs pretty well all the time" but admitted it was harder to keep in touch during Covid.
He added: “I've got good relations with all of our MPs, I don't think there's any MP that wouldn't be able to tell me what they think.”
