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Naz Shah suspended by Labour party amid antisemitism row Naz Shah suspended by Labour party amid antisemitism row
(about 4 hours later)
Naz Shah, the Bradford West MP accused of antisemitism, has been suspended from the Labour party “by mutual agreement” after David Cameron said it was “extraordinary” that someone who appeared to have suggested Israelis should be deported to the US continued to hold the Labour whip. Jeremy Corbyn has caved in to pressure and suspended Naz Shah, the Bradford West MP, over remarks she made about Israel on Facebook.
Jeremy Corbyn had earlier said he would not suspend the MP, who then issued a “heartfelt apology” in the House of Commons. Shortly before he faced David Cameron in the House of Commons on Wednesday afternoon Corbyn had issued a statement saying that he had accepted Shah’s “fulsome” apology for a series of posts from 2014 in which she appeared to endorse a suggestion that Israelis be deported to the United States.
His aides defended her, saying the comments were antisemitic but the MP had “shocked herself” and did not mean what she said, so she could not be described as antisemitic. Even after the prime minister said it was “extraordinary,” that she continued to hold the Labour whip, and accused the Labour leader of failing to get to grips with antisemitisim in his party, Corbyn’s aides defended Shah, saying the comments were antisemitic but the MP had “shocked herself,” and did not mean what she said.
But little more than two hours later, Labour announced that Shah had been suspended “by mutual agreement” while claims against her were investigated by Labour’s national executive committee. But later in the day, Labour announced that the Bradford West MP had been suspended, “by mutual agreement,” while claims against her were investigated by the compliance committee of Labour’s national executive committee.
A Labour party spokesman said on Wednesday: “Jeremy Corbyn and Naz Shah have mutually agreed that she is administratively suspended from the Labour party by the general secretary.
“Pending investigation, she is unable to take part in any party activity and the whip is removed.”
The announcement came just an hour after Shah made the latest in a series of apologies over the posts – telling the House of Commons she “profoundly” regretted her behaviour.
She quit her role as a parliamentary assistant to the shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, on Tuesday and was summoned on Wednesday morning to a meeting with Corbyn, who told her the comments were “offensive and unacceptable”. Corbyn accepted she no longer held those views.
But the shadow energy secretary, Lisa Nandy, was among Labour figures saying the party faced “real problems” if it was seen not to apply the same standards to MPs as to other activists.
The allegations centre around a 2014 Facebook post, in which Shah shared a graphic of Israel’s outline superimposed on a map of the US under the headline “Solution for Israel-Palestine Conflict – Relocate Israel into United States”, with the comment: “Problem solved.”The allegations centre around a 2014 Facebook post, in which Shah shared a graphic of Israel’s outline superimposed on a map of the US under the headline “Solution for Israel-Palestine Conflict – Relocate Israel into United States”, with the comment: “Problem solved.”
Shah told MPs: “I wholeheartedly apologise to this house for the words I used before I became a member. I accept and understand that the words I used caused upset and hurt to the Jewish community and I deeply regret that. A Labour party spokesman said: “Jeremy Corbyn and Naz Shah have mutually agreed that she is administratively suspended from the Labour party by the general secretary. Pending investigation, she is unable to take part in any party activity and the whip is removed.”
“Antisemitism is racism, full stop. As an MP I will do everything in my power to build relations between Muslims, Jews and people of different faiths and none.” Sources close to Corbyn denied that they had edited an article in Jewish News, in which Shah apologised. It was alleged in an article on Buzzfeed that the article had been changed, to remove references to the wider challenge of antisemitism on the left but senior party sources insisted that was “categorically not the case”, and the only changes had been stylistic. Buzzfeed later accepted that this was the case and that “nobody in Jeremy Corbyn’s office or Labour HQ saw or edited the draft referred to in our [Buzzfeed’s] original story”.
Shah wrote in Jewish News that she wished to make an “unequivocal apology for statements and ideas that I have foolishly endorsed in the past”. Later, Shah issued a statement, by email, saying: “The statement referred to by Buzzfeed was neither drafted by me nor approved by me. This was a very personal issue which I felt required a very personal response.
“The manner and tone of what I wrote in haste is not excusable. With the understanding of the issues I have now I would never have posted them. I have to own up to the fact that ignorance is not a defence.” “I had caused the offence, it was right that I wrote my own apology. I sent my final statement to the Labour party for information. At no point was it changed by my party.”
A senior Labour aide accepted that the remark in the Facebook post was antisemitic, but added that Shah had said she was now personally “shocked” by her own actions of two years ago. Labour backbenchers were exasperated at the less than sure-footed handling of the crisis by the leadership; but there was considerable sympathy for the popular MP, who came from a tough family background to defeat George Galloway at last year’s general election in a sometimes bitter campaign. “In my book, she’s a heroine,” said one party source.
“We are not suggesting she is antisemitic. We are saying that she made remarks that she does not agree with,” he said. Shah had earlier used a point of order in the House of Commons to make the latest in a series of apologies over the posts – telling MPs she “profoundly” regretted her behaviour.
It was also claimed that Labour edited Shah’s public apology to omit overt references to antisemitism. According to BuzzFeed, a draft of the Jewish News article featured references to previous support for antisemitism, which do not appear in the final published piece. She told MPs: “I wholeheartedly apologise to this house for the words I used before I became a member. I accept and understand that the words I used caused upset and hurt to the Jewish community and I deeply regret that.”
Labour sources conceded that the statement had been edited, with some sentences taken out; but categorically denied that references to antisemitism had been removed. She quit her role as a parliamentary assistant to the shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, on Tuesday and was summoned on Wednesday morning to a meeting with Corbyn, who told her the comments were “offensive and unacceptable”. Corbyn accepted she no longer held those views.
Shah’s suspension came after British Jewish organisations had called for the Labour leader to consider further disciplinary action. Jonathan Arkush, president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, said: “Naz Shah’s postings rightly stand condemned on all sides of the political spectrum. We note that she has resigned as the parliamentary aide to the shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, and issued statements of apology. But shadow energy secretary, Lisa Nandy, was among Labour figures saying the party faced “real problems” if it was seen not to apply the same standards to MPs as to other activists.
“So far, the Labour leader has merely said that he has spoken to the MP to say that her posts were unacceptable. This is a minor slap on the wrist and he should go further. We note that Ms Shah herself called for a Conservative councillor in Bradford to be suspended from the party for alleged antisemitic remarks. John Woodcock, MP and former chair of the Labour Friends of Israel, said: “The handling of this has been a mess. But the most important thing is that the Labour leadership properly acknowledges now the scale of the antisemitism problem that is growing in the party.”
“Disciplinary sanctions do need to be considered. We will be meeting Ms Shah in the near future when we shall be asking her some very serious questions.” “This is abhorrent to our values as a party. It ought to transcend views on the leadership and wider party direction but unless and until it is gripped by everyone from Jeremy downwards it is going to fester and undermine everything we do.”
Councillor Simon Cooke, leader of the Conservative group on Bradford council, who wrote to Corbyn demanding Shah’s resignation, said he was pleased that “common sense” had prevailed. Shah’s suspension was the latest in a series of incidents which have raised questions about antisemitism in the Labour party. Former parliamentary candidate Vicki Kirby was recently suspended, after being re-admitted to the party following anti-semitic Tweets, including comments about Jews having “big noses”.
He added: “The Labour party acted appropriately. These are serious allegations and concerns and it is always important that MPs should not be treated differently to councillors and normal people and that common sense has prevailed. The latest involved the suspension of Khadim Hussain, a Labourcouncillor and former lord mayor of Bradford, who was put underinvestigation for sharing a Facebook post that complained “your school education system only tells you about Anne Frank and the six million Zionists that were killed by Hitler”. He has now quit the party.
Meanwhile, Ratna Lachman, director of JUST West Yorkshire, a racial justice campaigning organisation, said: “We acknowledge that Naz Shah MP has apologised for the offence she has caused unreservedly. We wait for the outcome of the investigation by the Labour party into her comments.” Jonathan Arkush, president of the Board of Deputies, an umbrella organisation representing British Jews, said earlier this month: “In the last few weeks we have witnessed a stream of clear cut cases of antisemitism in the Labour party, which can’t just be fobbed off as differences over Israel.”