Rolling coverage of all the day’s political developments as they happen
Livingstone says Hitler was originally a supporter of Zionism
John Mann calls Livingstone ‘disgusting Nazi apologist’
Labour suspends Livingstone
Mann reprimanded by Labour chief whip over row with Livingstone
Summary and analysis
6.28pm BST
It’s [ie, Shah’s comment] completely over the top but it’s not antisemitism. Let’s remember when Hitler won his election in 1932, his policy then was that Jews should be moved to Israel. He was supporting Zionism – this before he went mad and ended up killing six million Jews.
You’re a disgusting racist, Mr Livingstone ... rewriting history ... You’re a lying racist, a Nazi apologist ... You’re a disgusting Nazi apologist ... Go back and check what Hitler did. There’s a book called Mein Kampf. You obviously haven’t heard of it ... Dachau concentration camp in his 50 days. The Race Purity Laws in his first 100 days.
[Khan] is the favourite to be the next mayor of London; he has run the better campaign for the post and is probably the best candidate. By last weekend, I had concluded that he deserved my vote. Today, however, I know that he cannot have it because right now it is simply impossible to see how Jews can vote for a Labour party that does not appear to like them ...
Labour has a problem with anti-Semitism and a leader who does not seem to care enough about it. Until now my religious background has never been a factor in how I voted. But Mr Corbyn has turned me into a “political Jew”. I, like many British Jews, now feel as I imagine the gay community must have done when Margaret Thatcher passed the homophobic section 28 — that one of the two main parties has turned against me.
5.39pm BST
The New Statesman’s George Eaton says John Mann only avoided being suspended because the whips office (ie Rosie Winterton, the chief whip) objected.
I'm told that Team Corbyn wanted John Mann suspended but the whips office said no.
5.37pm BST
Boris Johnson, the outgoing Conservative London mayor, has told LBC there is a “virus of antisemitism” in Labour.
Asked if he really thinks Ken is an anti-semite Boris replied "I never used to...he's been guilty of some very serious antisemitic comments"
Boris Johnson talking to @IainDale contd "There's plainly some sort of virus of antisemitism in the Labour Party that needs to be addressed"
5.28pm BST
Here are more quotes from Jeremy Corbyn’s interview with the BBC.
The party membership is the biggest it has been in my lifetime. There are 400,000 individual members, there’s 100,000 affiliated supporters, there are three million affiliated trade union members.
It’s a very big organisation and I suspect that much of this criticism that you are saying about a crisis in the party actually comes from those who are nervous of the strength of the Labour party at local level.
It’s not a crisis. There’s no crisis. Where there is any racism in the party it will be dealt with and rooted out. I have been an anti-racist campaigner all my life.
We are totally opposed to anti-Semitism in any form within the party. The very small number of cases that have been brought to our attention have been dealt with swiftly and immediately, and they will be ...
A number of people, a very small number of people I have to say, in the entire party membership, have been suspended pending investigation. We are not tolerating anti-Semitism in any way or indeed any other kind of racism.
My job is to lead the party, my job is to ensure all members of the party behave in an appropriate way. There were concerns about the language used by Ken Livingstone, as there were one or two other people.
Obviously very sad, but there is a responsibility to lead the party.
5.05pm BST
Jeremy Corbyn has insisted that the Labour party is not in “crisis”. This is from the BBC’s Tom Barton.
"It's not a crisis, there's no crisis."
Jeremy Corbyn to @JPonpolitics on #Labour #AntiSemitism row pic.twitter.com/qOOqC7AUEV
4.46pm BST
Helpfully, the Independent has got a full transcript of all the various things Ken Livingstone has been saying in interviews today.
4.42pm BST
I quoted Seema Malhotra, the shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, earlier saying the suspension of Ken Livingstone was a “defining moment” for Labour (see 4.11pm) but on Twitter she went further, saying Livingstone “must go”.
Anti-semitism isn't in just one party. But Labour needs must take a lead in acting to end racism in all its forms. Ken Livingstone must go.
4.35pm BST
BBC New has just broadcast some footage of someone going up to the front door of Ken Livingstone’s home and tying an Israeli flag to the door knocker.
4.24pm BST
Laura Janner-Klausner, Senior Rabbi to the Movement for Reform Judaism, has said that Ken Livingstone’s record on antisemitism is worse than Naz Shah’s. Janner-Klausner told the Press Association:
I think these two people, Naz and Ken Livingstone, are night and day in how they have reacted. Here is one person who did something very wrong and has said ‘I have done something very wrong, I am sorry, I want to learn I want to change’.
And here we have someone who did something very wrong and has done for years and is in denial, aggressive denial, I think. He [Livingstone] is not an apologist for the Nazis, but I do think that he has a terrible, proven, repeated and long-term record of treating Jews and Judaism in an unpleasant way, and also in a self-satisfied way.
4.16pm BST
The Labour MP Mike Gapes has also tweeted his support for John Mann.
Agree. @JohnMannMP should be praised not criticised for his dedicated opposition to antisemitism https://t.co/IWnQzhxgYU
4.15pm BST
This is what the Labour MP Chris Evans was posting on Twitter about Ken Livingstone and John Mann earlier.
Enough is enough -get this odious man, and those like him, out of our party. Disgusting, idiotic comments once again https://t.co/zf9luGs72L
At last common sense prevails -Livingstone suspended -should've happened after his disgusting comments on mental health. He must be expelled
I hope the Chief Whip has summoned @JohnMannMP to give him a pat on the back
4.11pm BST
Seema Malhotra, the shadow chief secretary to Treasury, has described the suspension of Ken Livingstone as a “defining moment” for the party. She said:
This is a defining moment and it is right that the Labour party acted swiftly in suspending Ken Livingstone. Anti-Semitism is racism.
We know this is not an issue for one political party alone. But Labour can and must take a lead in seeking to stamp out rising levels of racism in all its forms.
3.55pm BST
Here is a statement from a Labour spokesperson on the chief whip’s meeting with John Mann.
The chief whip has made it absolutely clear to John Mann that it is completely inappropriate for Labour members of parliament to be involved in very public rows on television. She was very clear about how seriously this was viewed. John Mann fully accepted and understands this.
3.49pm BST
And here is my colleague Rowena Mason’s take on John Mann’s meeting with the chief whip.
John Mann has been given a slap on the wrist by chief whip, told not appropriate to have public row on tv
3.47pm BST
The Labour MP John Mann was reprimanded by Rosie Winterton, the chief whip, it is being reported.
This is from the Press Association’s Arj Singh.
.@JohnMannMP has been told by Chief Whip Rosie Winterton to stop getting "involved in very public rows on the television".
Chief whip Rosie Winterton has "made it absolutely clear" to John Mann it's "completely inappropriate" to have a spat on TV with a fellow MP
3.44pm BST
Sky has just shown some footage of Ken Livingstone arriving at his home (with what looked like a couple of bags of shopping). He said he would not be giving any further interviews, and would not be saying more until his regular LBC show with David Mellor at 10am on Saturday.
3.35pm BST
John Mann has already had his meeting with Rosie Winterton, the chief whip, I’m told. But I’ve got no further details yet as to what was said.
3.20pm BST
Here is some rather lively video of Ken Livingstone being doorstepped by reporters as he left the BBC’s Millbank studio after his interviews earlier today.
3.17pm BST
Here is more from what Jeremy Corbyn said about Ken Livingstone in Hull. Corbyn said:
There were grave concerns about the language [Livingstone] used. We had a discussion about it and decided we would suspend him and he would go through an investigation by party.
3.16pm BST
Earlier I said that when David Cameron talked about Labour MPs shouting “disgraceful” when he raised antisemitism in the Labour party at PMQs recently, he may have been muddling that up with what happened when he attacked Sadiq Khan at PMQs. But Hansard confirms that he was heckled loudly when the criticised Labour’s record on anti-semitism last month. I’ve updated the earlier post. See 2.28pm. You may need to refresh the page to get the update to appear.
3.03pm BST
Michael Dugher, who was sacked as shadow culture secretary by Jeremy Corbyn earlier this year, says the decision to summon John Mann to see the Rosie Winterton, the chief whip, is “outrageous” because Mann was “100% right”.
It is not clear yet what is going to happen to Mann when he gets called in to see Winterton, but it is safe to assume he faces a reprimand, or worse. She is not calling him in just to congratulate him.
Outrageous that lab spokes announces Livingstone suspended & @JohnMannMP summoned to see chief whip. Like its 1-1! John Mann was 100% right
3.00pm BST
Jeremy Corbyn has now spoken to reporters about Ken Livingstone, my colleague Anushka Asthana reports.
Corbyn on Livingstone. "He has been suspended from the party. We are not tolerating anti-Semitism in any form whatsoever in our party."
Labour leader has spoken during visit now in Hull pic.twitter.com/BCX9L4AfgT
Corbyn says suspending people is to send a "message" out. "Their cases will be investigated"
2.53pm BST
Huffington Post’s Paul Waugh says Jeremy Corbyn wants to suspend John Mann alongside Ken Livingstone.
A party source tells me Jeremy Corbyn in Grimsby today told Lab colleague: "We are not suspending Ken, unless we suspend John [Mann] too".
2.28pm BST
In his comment on the Ken Livingstone affair David Cameron said that he was shouted down by Labour MPs in the Commons recently when he tried to make a point about antisemitism in the Labour party. (See 2.01pm.)
He may not be remembering this accurately. He was shouted down in the Commons last week when he criticised Sadiq Khan’s links to Suliman Gani, an imam who is deemed extremist. Hansard recalls that Jeremy Corbyn was one of the people who told Cameron he was being “digraceful” (the word Cameron recalled today).
2.15pm BST
Rabbi Danni Rich from Liberal Judaism, a progressive Judaism body, has put out a statement explaining why, as a Labour party member, he was “disgusted” by Ken Livingstone’s Hitler comment this morning. Here’s an extract.
Claiming Hitler was a Zionist is not only a huge historical perversion, but it directly equates Nazism and Zionism. It suggests they share objectives and values; it is guilt by association. It is hard to think of a more offensive linkage.
Suspending him from the Labour Party is not the end of the matter. Livingstone is a symptom, not the cause.
2.08pm BST
The Board of Deputies of British Jews has called for Ken Livingstone to be expelled from the Labour party. This is from its president, Jonathan Arkush.
Ken Livingstone’s comments were abhorrent and beyond disgraceful. He denies anti-Semitism in Labour when the evidence is there for all to see. He lacks any sense of reality and decency. He must now be expelled from the Labour party.
2.01pm BST
David Cameron is taking part in a Q&A on the EU in Peterborough. Asked by Sky News about Ken Livingstone, he said that it was now clear Labour had a problem with antisemitism.
It is quite clear the Labour party has got a problem with antisemitism. I think they have got to recognise that antisemitism is like racism. It is unacceptable in a modern political party and every political party facing this problem has got to deal with it. And as I said to Jeremy Corbyn some weeks ago, when I was shouted down in the House of Commons with cries of disgraceful from the Labour benches, they’ve got a problem. It is now totally apparent that they have got a problem. And they have got to deal with it.
1.51pm BST
According to @deletedbyMPs, an account that aggregates tweets deleted by MPs, Diane Abbott, the shadow international development secretary and a leftwing ally of Ken Livingstone, has been deleting tweets she posted in the past expressing support for Livingstone. They were retweets of tweets backing Livingstone for election to Labour’s national executive committee.
1.41pm BST
The Labour MP Neil Coyle says some Labour members in his local party want Ken Livingstone to be expelled.
Sadly Ken is not just embarrassing himself, he's leaving @UKLabour v little option but to suspend his membership too https://t.co/6jiJMoRZZp
In case anyone is in any doubt what real leadership looks like from a man determined to represent all Londoners: https://t.co/g1jxL3VJ4s
Hear Ken Livingstone is being suspended from Labour. Local members have contacted me calling for outright expulsion for his dangerous views.
1.40pm BST
According to Huffington Post’s Paul Waugh, there are suggestions that John Mann could end up being suspended from the party too.
Just when you thought it couldn't get more surreal: Lab sources up north tell me pro-Corbyn forces floating idea of suspending John Mann too
1.29pm BST
The Labour party has now put out a statement confirming that Ken Livingstone has been suspended from the party.
And John Mann is in trouble too; he has been summoned to see the chief whip.
Ken Livingstone has been suspended by the Labour Party, pending an investigation, for bringing the Party into disrepute.
The chief whip has summoned John Mann MP to discuss his conduct.
1.25pm BST
Dan Jarvis, seen by some as a possible future Labour leader, has also been among those calling for Livingstone to be suspended.
Ken Livingstone's comments are appalling. No place for anti-Semitism in the Labour Party or society. He should be suspended immediately.
1.22pm BST
Labour is going to suspend Ken Livingstone from the party, my colleague Anushka Asthana reports.
BREAKING - Ken Livingstone about to be suspended from Labour Party - aides finalise decision
1.21pm BST
The Labour MP Wes Streeting says Ken Livingstone has been touring the TV studios “like a political arsonist”, pouring fuel on the fire. He should be gone, Streeting says.
He says Livingstone is guilty of “complicity” with antisemitism. He recalls what Livingstone said to the Jewish Evening Standard reporter. And he mentions Livingstone’s decision to invite the controversial Muslim cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi to London.
1.17pm BST
Livingstone is still on the World at One.
Q: There have been several calls for you to be suspended.
1.14pm BST
As you would expect, we have been trying to get some reaction from Labour HQ and Jeremy Corbyn’s office to what Livingstone said. They have not responded.
But Corbyn is doing a visit in Grimsby, so we might hear from him later. This is from my colleague Anushka Asthana.
Leadership team still finalising decision. Corbyn about to lay wreath to mark Workers Memorial Day in Grimsby but spoke to aides before.
1.12pm BST
Ken Livingstone is now on the World at One.
Q: What do you think of John Mann’s comments?
1.09pm BST
Michael Dugher, the former shadow culture secretary, has backed John Mann’s comments about Ken Livingstone. (See 12.53pm.)
I don't say this often but I agree with John McDonnell. "If people express these (antisemitic) views, full stop they’re out”. Livingstone?
What on earth has happened to the Labour Party?
Well said @JohnMannMP - damn right. https://t.co/fa01WTL3o8
1.08pm BST
More from Jon Lansman, the Momentum founder and key Corbyn ally.
Ken Livingstone achieved many good things for London and beyond. But all political lives end in failure, & he should now depart voluntarily
1.05pm BST
Sadiq Khan is on Sky News now. He says Londoners will be “appalled” by Ken Livingstone’s comments.
He says Londoners he speaks to say the Labour leadership has been too slow to take action against people who make antisemitic comments.
12.57pm BST
Jon Lansman, an longterm ally of Jeremy Corbyn and the founder of Momentum, says it is time for Ken Livingstone to leave politics.
A period of silence from Ken Livingstone is overdue, especially on antisemitism racism & Zionism. It’s time he left politics altogether
12.53pm BST
For the record, this is what the Labour MP John Mann said to Ken Livingstone in the confrontation filmed earlier as Livingstone was heading into the BBC studio. Mann was being quite repetitive, and so I’ve left out the phrases that he repeated.
You’re a disgusting racist, Mr Livingstone ... rewriting history ... You’re a lying racist, a Nazi apologist ... You’re a disgusting Nazi apologist ... Go back and check what Hitler did. There’s a book called Mein Kampf. You obviously haven’t heard of it ... Dachau concentration camp in his 50 days. The Race Purity Laws in his first 100 days.
12.45pm BST
I’m afraid we have had to close comments on the blog. This is something that happens only very rarely on Politics Live, but certain topics attract so much hate and abuse BTL that it becomes impossible for the moderators to cope. I’m sorry that has spoiled things for the many decent, sensible people who comment here.
12.41pm BST
Ken Livingstone has lost the support of Labour’s deputy leader, Tom Watson, my colleague Anushka Asthana reports.
I understand Tom Watson outraged and offended by Livingstone comments and concerned about damaging electoral prospects of 100s candidates.
12.33pm BST
Here is more footage of the Mann/Livingstone confrontation.
Watch: Extraordinary moment Labour's John Mann confronts Ken Livingstone over Hitler comment https://t.co/XEc0fd3QOlhttps://t.co/gx6zjPwLZM
12.30pm BST
Q: [To Mann] Do you think Livingstone is antisemitic?
Yes, says Mann.
I think you’ve lost it, Mr Livingstone ... What are you on at the moment? You certainly shouldn’t be on Labour’s national executive.
12.27pm BST
John Mann is coming on the programme now.
Q: Livingstone says you were over the top in calling him a Nazi apologist.
12.24pm BST
Neil asks Nick Clegg, who is also on the Daily Politics, what he thinks.
Clegg says he thinks Labour MPs want Livingstone suspended because of what he said about Hitler. It is perverse logic to introduce Hitler when trying to defend someone of antisemitism. Clegg says he won’t be sanctimonious; he had to deal with antisemitism in his party. But linking Hitler with modern politics is contorted.
12.21pm BST
Neil plays a clip of the Livingstone/Mann confrontation.
Q: I have never heard a Labour MP call another Labour colleague a Nazi apologist.
12.18pm BST
Livingstone says many of the recent controversies involve people who have just joined the party.
Q: You welcomed to London a man who called for Jews and homosexuals around the world to be killed when you were mayor.
12.14pm BST
Andrew Neil is now interviewing Ken Livingstone on the BBC’s Daily Politics.
Neil asks about various Naz Shah posts. Livingstone says they will be investigated.
12.10pm BST
In his interview on BBC News Ken Livingstone said that confusing antisemitism with criticising Israel undermined the fight against real antisemitism.
We can’t confuse criticising the government of Israel with antisemitism. If you are antisemitic you hate Jews, not just the ones in Israel, you hate your neighbour in Golders Green, or your neighbour in Stoke Newington. It’s a deep personal loathing like racism.
One of my worries is this confusion of antisemitism with criticising Israeli government policy undermines the importance of tackling real antisemitism.
12.09pm BST
Here is some footage of the Ken Livingstone/John Mann confrontation.
Clash between John Mann and Ken Livingstone pic.twitter.com/WMoSonca3t
11.59am BST
The interview is still going on.
Livingstone says you will not find anyone in the Labour party saying anything antisemitic without being expelled recently.
11.55am BST
Ken Livingstone is on BBC News now.
11.51am BST
According to Channel 4 News’s Michael Crick, the Labour MP John Mann told Ken Livingstone to his face outside a recording studio (it looks like Millbank from the picture) that he was “a fucking disgrace”.
John Mann attacks Livjngstone to his face. "You are an fucking disgrace. It's a calculated lie" pic.twitter.com/BzLDi6HRFX
11.45am BST
And here is another Labour peer attacking Ken Livingstone. Spencer Livermore was Labour’s general election campaign director in 2015.
Ken Livingstone's comments bring shame on the Labour Party - he should be suspended immediately.
11.42am BST
Chris Bryant, the shadow leader of the Commons, has denounced Ken Livingstone. He has done so through a post @ShadLeaderHoC, a genuine Twitter account.
Bryant is the first member of the shadow cabinet to speak out against Livingstone this morning.
Chris Bryant on anti-Semitism and racism. Yes I'm talking to you Ken Livingstone. pic.twitter.com/wxiisas3eH
11.38am BST
Here’s Stewart Wood, the Labour peer who was Ed Miliband’s main policy adviser, on Ken Livingstone.
Ken: "Hitler was supporting Zionism - before he went mad & ended up killing 6 million Jews". Tough to know where to start objecting to this.
11.31am BST
Tristram Hunt, the former shadow education secretary, says Livingstone’s comments were “despicable”. He also wants Livingstone to be suspended.
Ken Livingstone's comments this morning were despicable - he should be suspended from the Party immediately.
11.30am BST
In the Commons Chris Grayling, the Conservative leader of the Commons, has described Livingstone’s comments as “disgraceful”. This is from the Press Association’s Jack Maidment.
Chris Grayling describes Ken Livingstone's as "disgraceful".
"He should be suspended from the Labour Party for the things he has said."
11.28am BST
Liz Kendall, the former Labour leadership contest, is joining those calling for Ken Livingstone to be suspended.
We must not allow Labour's proud history of fighting racism & prejudice to be put at any further risk. Ken Livingstone should be suspended.
11.26am BST
Figures from other parties are now hurling themselves on to the anti-Livingstone bandwagon. Caroline Pidgeon, the Lib Dem mayoral candidate, is calling for Ken Livingstone to be expelled from Labour.
Ken Livingstone has form on this. London is a diverse and tolerant city. There should be no place for division. Jeremy Corbyn should expel Ken Livingstone from the Labour Party.
11.23am BST
And this is from the Labour MP John Woodcock, who seems to be calling for Livingstone to lose his role as co-chair of the party’s international policy commission.
Well said Sadiq. Ken Livingstone is the chair of Labour's international policy commission - this cannot go on https://t.co/eaYj8xO9OU
11.20am BST
Stella Creasy, who was runner up in last year’s Labour deputy leadership contest, and the backbencher Jess Phillips are both calling for Ken Livingstone to be suspended from the party in the light of his latest comments.
Not in my name #kenlivingstone - he should be suspended immediately without ecquivocation. Our #labourfamily has no place for such bigotry.
Ken Livingstone must be suspended from the Labour Party
11.17am BST
The Labour MP Conor McGinn says Ken Livingstone’s comments on antisemitism are “appalling”.
I've given Ken Livingstone a fool's pardon in recent months. But his comments on anti-semitism are appalling. We can't allow this to go on.
If Ken Livingstone changed 'Irish' to 'Jewish' in his quote on this book cover it would sadly be very relevant today pic.twitter.com/TwiPm2FGaT
11.08am BST
Sadiq Khan, the Labour candidate for London mayor, says Ken Livingstone’s comments are “inexcusable”.
Ken Livingstone's comments are appalling and inexcusable. There must be no place for this in our Party.
11.04am BST
The Labour MP Wes Streeting is calling for Ken Livingstone to be suspended from the Labour party over his comments this morning.
Ken Livingstone has form on antisemitism and has been tolerated for far too long. He should be suspended immediately.
11.01am BST
Ken Livingstone, the Labour former mayor of London, has defended Naz Shah in provocative terms in an interview on BBC Radio London this morning. Here are the key points.
She’s a deep critic of Israel and its policies. Her remarks were over the top but she’s not anti-Semitic. I’ve been in the Labour party for 47 years; I’ve never heard anyone say anything anti-Semitic. I’ve heard a lot of criticism of the state of Israel and its abuse of Palestinians but I’ve never heard anyone say anything anti-Semitic.It’s completely over the top but it’s not anti-Semitic.
Let’s remember when Hitler won his election in 1932, his policy then was that Jews should be moved to Israel. He was supporting Zionism – this before he went mad and ended up killing six million Jews.
There’s one stark fact that virtually no one in the British media ever reports, in almost all these conflicts the death toll is usually between 60 and 100 Palestinians killed for every Israeli. Now, any other country doing that would be accused of war crimes but it’s like we have a double standard about the policies of the Israeli government.
There’s been a very well-orchestrated campaign by the Israel lobby to smear anybody who criticises Israeli policy as anti-Semitic. I had to put up with 35 years of this.
After Jeremy became leader I was having a chat with Michael [Levy] and he said he was very worried because one of his friends who was Jewish had come to him and said ‘the election of Jeremy Corbyn is exactly the same as the first step to the rise of Adolf Hitler to power’.
Frankly, there’s been an attempt to smear Jeremy Corbyn and his associates as anti-Semitic from the moment he became leader. The simple fact is we have the right to criticise what is one of the most brutal regimes going in the way it treats the Palestinians.
10.45am BST
Bernard Jenkin says this amounts to a “lobbying scandal”.
He says the government has watered down its manifesto commitments on the trade union bill. He says the recent concession on the bill was unexpected.
10.40am BST
Bernard Jenkin, the Conservative MP and leading Brexit campaigner, asks his urgent question. He calls for an investigation by the prime minister’s adviser on ministerial interests into discussions between ministers and unions and the Labour party, and any deal they might have struck over concessions on the trade union bill in return for union support for the Remain campaign.
Nick Boles, the skills minister, says he has been told by the Cabinet Office there is no need for such an inquiry. He says the trade union bill is currently going through “ping pong” (when the Commons and Lords thrash out remaining disagreements on the bill). He says it is normal for the government to compromise at this point to get its legislation through parliament. He says the unions have always been in favour of remaining in the EU.
10.31am BST
Here are two blogs that are worth reading in connection with the Labour antisemitism row.
The allegations against Corbyn and the Labour party are underpinned by an almost comical paucity of evidence, while what evidence does exist not only fails to justify the claims being made, but has itself been systematically misrepresented. There is no grounds for supposing either that antisemitism is significant within the Labour party, or that its prevalence is increasing. But, under mounting pressure, the Labour leadership’s response to the accusations has regressed from dismissive to defensive, to the point where policy interventions from such noted antisemitism experts as Richard Angell of Progress are reportedly being treated as serious, good-faith contributions.
The political logic behind this retreat is understandable, but there is no reason for others to play along. The enraging and – for genuine opponents of antisemitism – dismaying truth is this: a miserable assortment of chancers, cynics and careerists is exploiting Jewish suffering to prosecute petty vendettas, wage factional warfare and discredit legitimate criticism of Israel ...
10.01am BST
The Labour MP John Mann, who chairs the all-party parliamentary group against antisemitism, told the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire show that he thought Naz Shah should be sent to Isreal as part of antisemitism awareness training. He told the programme:
They are stupid remarks, but they are also racist remarks and highly offensive. Either she is thrown out or she is educated about antisemitism and the grave offence she has created.
What I’ve recommended, and I did so before she was suspended to Jeremy Corbyn, and to her directly personally, is that she should be educated in antisemitism in order that she can be one of the people who fights it. And that should include - and I’ve asked Jeremy Corbyn to do this - that she should go to Israel to the Holocaust centre at Yad Vashem and also to Sderot where the missiles from Hamas hit families to get a better understanding of Israel and why her remarks are offensive.
9.41am BST
Lucy Powell, the shadow education secretary, was asked why Naz Shah was not suspended earlier when she was interviewed on the Today programme this morning. “Sometimes I know people want us to act immediately but sometimes it does take some time to establish the facts,” Powell told the programme.
Powell also sidestepped a question about whether she would be happy to sit alongside Shah in the Commons, saying she did not want to “predetermine the outcome” of the investigation into the MP.
9.27am BST
It is widely assumed at Westminster that the government has offered concessions on the trade union bill as part of some deal with the unions to get them to spend money campaign for a Remain vote in the EU referendum. But this has not been confirmed.
We might learn more this morning, though. There will be an urgent question about it in the Commons.
UQ granted to Bernard Jenkin to ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the Trade Union Bill and ministerial discussions
9.14am BST
Yesterday Jeremy Corbyn suspended the Bradford West MP Naz Shah over a Facebook post deemed antisemitic that she made before the general election but his action has not silenced the row about antisemitism in the party. Leading Jewish figures have been saying it’s a serious problem for the party.
The most significant is probably Lord Levy, the party’s chief fundraiser when Tony Blair was leader. He told Newsnight that Corbyn’s team had “dithered” and “taken too long” to suspend Shah.
Unfortunately I have to say that I do think that it’s a serious problem. The lack of sensitivity when an MP talks about transportation of the largest Jewish community in the world, I think it just shows such ignorance.
The tweets and comments that she made on Hitler, I just begin to scratch my head in despair as to how people like this can enter our Parliament with such a lack of knowledge, such a lack of discretion and such a lack of sensitivity.
I think Labour does have a problem with anti-Semitism. That’s not to say that other parties haven’t got problems with anti-Semitism, or that it isn’t elsewhere. But Labour has a very particular problem, and a particular problem at the moment.
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