As he sticks to his promise to “tear antisemitism out” of its ranks, the Labour leader claims it is “unprecedented” to drop a candidate at this late stage and maintains it demonstrates how his party has “changed” under his leadership.
Following reports that Azhar Ali had allegedly made antisemitic statements during a party meeting, the party suspended him on Monday.
Shadow ministers condemned the councillor’s remarks but insisted he had extended a complete apology after they were made public by the Mail on Sunday. The councillor had claimed that Israel had purposefully allowed the atrocities carried out by Hamas to occur in order to give it the “green light” to invade Gaza.
However, the party withdrew its support after additional comments made by Mr. Ali surfaced on Tuesday night. These comments included him accusing “people in the media from certain Jewish quarters” of inciting criticism of a pro-Palestinian Labour MP and asserting that Israel intended to “get rid of [Palestinians] from Gaza” and “grab” some of the land.
For the first time since the decision, Sir Keir spoke with media, saying, “I took decisive action.” Removing support for a Labour candidate in the middle of a by-election is a big deal.
“It is a tough decision, a necessary decision, but when I say the Labour Party has changed under my leadership, I mean it.”
