A SCOTTISH Labour candidate has been hit with allegations of anti-Semitism after drawing attention to a BBC journalist's Jewish heritage.
Jean Anne Mitchell, standing in West Dunbartonshire, passed on details of Nick Robinson's family history after he chaired a debate involving Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn.
Mitchell forwarded a message in a WhatsApp group that claimed Robinson, who now presents the Today programme, gave Johnson an easier time on questions than he did Corbyn. The message alleged that Robinson appeared biased and so "we Googled him".
The WhatsApp comment, made by an unnamed individual and shared by Mitchell, highlighted that “his mother was born in Shanghai, where her German-Jewish parents fled during the 1930s.”
The post concluded: “That makes him Jewish.”
After sharing the post, Mitchell commented one minute later: “Above message from my friends in London!”
Robinson's grandparents escaped from the Nazis in the early 1930s. He describes himself as a “Jew by birth”, though says he is “now an agnostic”.
Contacted by the Daily Record, Mitchell said she had shared the message “for information purposes, nothing more”.
She said: “I’ve got so many Jewish friends and I would never, ever, ever to do anything that was in any way anti-semitic.”
After being read the section on Robinson’s Jewish heritage, she said: “I did not read that message properly. I was tired, I had been out campaigning all day. I came in, I sat down, I watched the debate, I came in and I shared that with the group because it was to do with the programme."
She also stated: “I am really, really troubled that someone in a candidate group has actually let that be shared outwith the group. That is really pretty alarming.”
The WhatsApp post also drew attention to Robinson's history as a Young Conservative before his career in the media.
It ended: “So not at all biased then x.”
The insider who passed on screenshots of the conversation claimed that Mitchell later returned to the WhatsApp group to apologise for not reading the message properly before sharing it.
Mitchell is contesting a seat won by the SNP's Martin Docherty-Hughes in 2017.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel