LABOUR have suspended one of their MPs after he claimed the party had been “too apologetic” about anti-Semitism.
The remarks by Chris Williamson, a key ally of Jeremy Corbyn, were made at a Momentum rally in Sheffield last week.
He told activists: “In my opinion, we’ve backed off far too much, we’ve given too much ground, we’ve been too apologetic.”
Footage of the meeting, obtained by the Yorkshire Post, quickly went viral on social media and infuriated Jewish groups and other Labour MPs.
Marie van der Zyl, president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, said: “Chris Williamson trolls those who oppose anti-Semitism, repeatedly siding with the anti-Semites over the Jews.”
Initially, Labour told Williamson he could remain in the party while they investigated a “pattern of behaviour”.
That also angered Labour parliamentarians. Deputy leader Tom Watson said he would have removed the whip, and 38 Labour MPs, including a number of frontbenchers, signed a letter calling for Williamson’s immediate suspension.
General secretary Jenny Formby overturned the earlier decision last night. A party spokesman said: “Chris Williamson is suspended from the party, and therefore the whip, pending investigation.”
Williamson said in a statement:“I deeply regret and apologise for my recent choice of words. I was trying to suggest how much the party has done to tackle anti-Semitism.
“Our movement can never be too apologetic about racism in our ranks. While it is true there have been very few cases of anti-Semitism in Labour, something I believe is often forgotten when discussing this issue, it is also true that those few are too many.”
Williamson said he would be more “considered” in his language in future.
Watson called the apology “not good enough”, saying it was “long-winded and heavily caveated”.
There have been tensions recently between Watson and Corbyn over the anti-Semitism row that has near dominated the veteran left-winger’s time as Labour leader.
On Sunday, Watson warned Corbyn that Labour faced a “crisis” and handed over a dossier of 50 cases of anti-Semitism, which he asked the leader to look at personally.
Corbyn’s office responded by insisting it was not his role to involve himself in the party’s disciplinary processes.
Earlier in the week, Williamson was under fire after booking a room in Parliament to screen a controversial film about Jackie Walker, an activist twice suspended from the Labour Party over allegations of anti-Semitism
The screening was cancelled yesterday.
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