Labour campaign group lodges complaint against Jeremy Corbyn over Zionist remarks
3 min read
Jeremy Corbyn has been reported to the Labour Party over his controversial 2013 comments about British "Zionists" not understanding "English irony".
The Labour leader came under fire from MPs in his own party this week when it emerged that he had told a London conference that a group challenging a speech by the Palestinian ambassador to the UK had "two problems”.
"One is they don't want to study history, and secondly, having lived in this country for a very long time, probably all their lives, they don't understand English irony either," he told the gathering.
The move prompted criticism from MP Luciana Berger, parliamentary chair of the Jewish Labour Movement, who branded the comments "inexcusable".
Fellow MP David Lammy meanwhile said the comments were "wrong and risk offending the 90% of British Jews who identify as Zionists".
According to the Observer, campaign group Labour Against Antisemitism has now delivered an official complaint about Mr Corbyn to the party, for "antisemitism and for bringing the party into disrepute".
Spokesperson Euan Phillips said: "The leader of our party must be subjected to the same scrutiny and procedures as any other member.
"It is time for the Labour party to show it is serious about tackling antisemitism by immediately suspending Mr Corbyn and launching a full and independent investigation into his conduct."
A Labour spokesperson told the paper: "The Labour party’s complaints procedure operates confidentially in the interests of fairness to all concerned.
"This is to ensure protection of the personal data both for any members who make complaints, and for those to whom complaints relate.
"This enables procedures to be followed properly. Therefore we do not comment on individual cases."
'NOT A EUPHEMISM'
Mr Corbyn issued a statement on Friday seeking to clarify the remarks, saying he had used the term Zionist "in the accurate political sense and not as a euphemism for Jewish people".
However, he acknowledged that the term had become "increasingly hijacked by anti-Semites as code for Jews" and said he had become "more careful" in recent years about the use of the term.
The Conservatives this week seized on the row over Mr Corbyn's comments, with Tory vice chair Helen Grant claiming the Labour leader had breached the code of conduct for MPs.
In a letter to parliamentary standards commissioner Kathryn Stone, Ms Grant said: "Mr Corbyn has undoubtedly brought this House into disrepute.
"It is clear Mr Corbyn has not reached the bar set by the code of conduct for members, and I therefore ask that you investigate."
But Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell, a key ally of the Labour leader, leapt to Mr Corbyn's defence, and said the remarks had been taken "out of context".
"Whatever Jeremy has said throughout the years has always been about how to secure peace, particularly within the Middle East and also peace with justice for all concerned - both members of the Jewish community and also members of the Palestinian community," the frontbencher told the BBC.
"In that context Jeremy has devoted his life, so I think this would take expressions out of context in that way are not helping."
PoliticsHome Newsletters
PoliticsHome provides the most comprehensive coverage of UK politics anywhere on the web, offering high quality original reporting and analysis: Subscribe
