Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Kevin Rawlinson

Labour criticised for backing Rochdale candidate after offensive Israel remark

Azhar Ali.
Azhar Ali, Labour’s Rochdale byelection candidate, suggested Israel had allowed the Hamas attacks to take place. Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The Guardian

Labour is facing criticism for standing by a parliamentary candidate who has been forced to apologise for suggesting that Israel allowed Hamas’s 7 October attacks to take place to provide grounds to invade Gaza.

The comments made by Azhar Ali, the party’s candidate in the Rochdale byelection, have threatened to reignite the damaging row over antisemitism in the Labour party that blighted Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.