Labour members who attended a meeting where two parliamentary candidates abused Israel were on Wednesday warned to come forward as an antisemitism storm deepened around the party.
Shadow defence secretary John Healey issued the warning as calls grew from Labour Jewish members for others to be suspended if they failed to intervene at the meeting, held after Israel’s war in Gaza was triggered by Hamas’s deadly rampage on October 7.
Munsif Dad, who leads the Labour group on Hyndburn council in Lancashire, was at the meeting and has been spoken to by party officials, Sky News reported, after the party withdrew support for its Commons candidates in Hyndburn and Rochdale.
“We will follow the hard evidence that’s presented to us or that comes to light,” Mr Healey told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. Anyone who attended the meeting and heard language “incompatible with the values of our Labour Party — they need to report it, provide it and the Labour Party will take it seriously and investigate it”.
Pushed on whether there were flaws in candidate vetting, the shadow minister said that Rochdale candidate Azhar Ali was “widely respected, widely supported across communities, including the Jewish community in the North West, and there certainly are strong checks”.
He added: “But you can’t see everything everywhere. What’s important is that if new information comes to light, as in this case, we will act to investigate, we will act to block those who are not fit to serve as MPs.”
Sir Keir Starmer this week withdrew party backing for Mr Ali in Rochdale, likely handing the safe Labour seat with its sizeable Muslim population to George Galloway in a by-election on February 29.
Mr Healey insisted that in depriving supporters of a Labour-endorsed candidate in Rochdale, “it’s a case of Keir Starmer putting country and public standards in public life ahead of our party interest”. He said: “Restoring, retaining the trust of the Jewish community and any community is a constant process. And Keir Starmer is deeply, deeply aware of that.”
A clip that emerged yesterday showed Hyndburn candidate Graham Jones demanding that any British people who volunteer for the Israel Defence Forces be “locked up”, although there is nothing illegal under UK law about dual nationals fighting for an ally.
A Savanta poll found Labour’s lead over the Tories dropping seven points during a difficult fortnight in which Sir Keir watered down the party’s flagship environment policy. Labour support stood at 41 per cent (down five points) while the Conservatives were on 29 per cent (up two).
Chris Hopkins, Political Research Director at Savanta, cautioned against reading too much into one survey. But he added: “Voters have not quite made up their mind about Keir Starmer’s Labour Party, and doubts could well be creeping back in.”
