Angry Labour members 'heckled moment of silence' for Dame Tessa Jowell
2 min read
Angry Labour activists heckled a minute’s silence for Dame Tessa Jowell and demanded a moment for the wounded in Gaza instead, it has been reported.
The small group of members refused to take part in the solemn moment for the former Labour minister because she had voted to "murder a lot of people", it was claimed.
A source told the Evening Standard they were angry because she had voted through welfare reforms and was close to former prime minister Tony Blair.
The incident is said to have taken place during a meeting of the Hampstead and Kilburn Labour party on 16 May - just days after Dame Tessa's death from brain cancer.
A source told the paper: “There was quite a lot of heckling and one person shouted that Tessa Jowell had voted for murders of lots of people. They instead wanted to hold a minute’s silence for Gaza.
“It was pretty upsetting for people in the room who knew Tessa well as she had a lot of connections to the area and was a member of the constituency party when she was a councillor.”
The minute’s silence apparently continued despite the interruption.
CLP secretary Helen Brown said following the meeting: “The serious incident will not be ignored and shall be dealt with accordingly.”
Former leader of Camden Council Sarah Hayward suggested the Labour branch could be frozen over the incident.
“I honestly think there’s a case for suspending Hampstead and Kilburn Party," she said on Twitter.
"Anti-Semitism is commonplace, this type of behaviour should be utterly unacceptable. Tessa’s contribution to Camden was immense and her legacy lives on in the borough."
Meanwhile ex-Camden councillor Phil Rosenberg slammed the Labour party for apparently letting members off the hook for bad behaviour.
He told the Standard: “The standard of behaviour at Hampstead and Kilburn Constituency Labour Party has long ceased to be acceptable, and it seems that a lack of discernible action from the Labour party is allowing it to plumb new depths.”
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