Emily Thornberry demands ‘sickening individuals’ with a ‘despicable hatred’ of Jews are kicked out of Labour after the party has been plunged into turmoil over the anti-Semitism crisis
- Shadow foreign secretary tore into racists lurking at the fringe of Labour
- Used her speech at party conference in Liverpool to demand they are expelled
- The anti-Semitism crisis has plunged Labour into a longer and bitter civil war
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Emily Thornbery today angrily demanded that ‘sickening individuals’ who voice a ‘despicable hatred’ for Jews are kicked out of Labour amid the anti-Semitism crisis.
The shadow foreign secretary used her speech at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool to lash activists who use the issue of Palestine as a ‘cloak’ to hide their racist views.
And she said the anti-Semites lurking in Labour party branches must be booted out just as Oswald Mosley was in the past.
Her outspoken intervention on stage came after her party has been plunged into a protracted and bitter civil war over the anti-Semitism crisis.
Jeremy Corbyn – who sat on stage as Ms Thornberry spoke – has been accused of being an anti-Semite and allowing the racism to fester among his supporters.
In a sign of how poisonous the issue has become for the party, the conference chairwoman took the highly unusual step of warning activists not to use anti-Semitic language when debating the topic of Palestine.
And hundreds of party activists unfurled Palestinian flags and waved them in the conference hall in a protest viewed as inflammatory.
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Emily Thornbery (pictured today at the Labour Party conference) angrily demanded that ‘sickening individuals’ who voice a ‘despicable hatred’ for Jews are kicked out of Labour amid the anti-Semitism crisis
The shadow foreign secretary (pictured at Labour conference today) used her speech at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool to lash activists who the issue of Palestine as a ‘cloak’ to peddle their racist views
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In a fiery speech to the conference hall, Ms Thornberry said: ‘We all support the Palestinian cause, we are all committed to recognise the Palestinian State, and I stand here with no hesitation when I condemn the Netanyahu government for its racist policies and its criminal actions against the Palestinian people.
Corbyn sued by British Jew who he accused of not understanding English irony
Jeremy Corbyn is being sued by the British Jewish blogger he accused of not understanding ‘English irony’, MailOnline can reveal.
Richard Millett, 50, instructed solicitors after Mr Corbyn made further comments about him on Sunday that he views as defamatory.
During an interview with Andrew Marr on BBC One, the Labour leader painted a picture of Mr Millett as ‘incredibly disruptive’, claiming that the police wanted to throw him out of Parliament until Mr Corbyn said he could stay.
Mr Millett, whose father fought for Britain in WWII, says that the allegations are entirely untrue and have caused lasting damage to his reputation. He is suing Corbyn for £100,000.
He said: ‘Jeremy Corbyn has constantly been trying to paint me as some aggressive traitor who has brushes with police.
‘Listening to his interview, you’d have thought that the police were on the verge of hauling me out of parliamentary events and it was only saintly Corbyn who stopped that happening.
‘It’s totally untrue. It’s preposterous. I think he just said it on the hoof, under questioning on the BBC on Sunday. He can’t actually back it up.’
‘But I know as well, and we must all acknowledge, that there are sickening individuals on the fringes of our movement, who use our legitimate support for Palestine as a cloak and a cover for their despicable hatred of Jewish people, and their desire to see Israel destroyed.
‘Those people stand for everything that we have always stood against and they must be kicked out of our party the same way Oswald Mosley was kicked out of Liverpool.’
Her punchy intervention came immediately after an incendiary stunt which saw hundreds of activists wave Palestinian flags in the middle of the conference hall.
They staged the protest as the conference debated a motion about palestinian rights.
Unite general secretary Len McCluskey was among those seen to be holding one of the flags, which have been handed out at conference today.
And the party has been wracked by in-fighting over the anti-Semitism crisis.
Rhea Wolfson, who chaired the debate in the conference hall, took the highly unusual step of warning speakers not to use racist language.
She said: ‘The party is totally and completely committed to protecting the freedom of our members to discuss and debate and condemn the actions of the Israeli government and the situation of the Palestinians.
‘We’re also committed to our conference being a safe, welcoming space for all religions and ethnic minority groups.’
She added: ‘Please think carefully about the language you use and how you express yourself, and please ensure that every speaker is made to feel welcome and nobody is booed and heckled for having a view you may disagree with.’
But one speaker who addressed the conference centre said the anti-Semitism row has been inflated as a smear against Mr Corbyn.
Hilary Wise, a Labour member from Ealing and Central Action in west London, said there has been a ‘campaign of slurs and accusations of anti-Semitism, largely against the leadership, against Jeremy Corbyn, against the left of the party’.
She added: ‘I have looked into these accusations very carefully – I am an academic I know how to do research – a few of them are justified, but most of them actually are not.
‘I’m afraid it is an orchestrated campaign.’
Activist is BANNED from flying EU flag at Labour conference
Palestinian flags were flown at Labour conference today despite a ban on EU flags
A Labour activist was banned from flying the EU flag in the Labour conference today – despite hundreds of people unfurling Palestinian flags.
Delegate Paul Wilkinson raised a point of order to protest the ‘double standard’ from party officials.
He said he was told in ‘no uncertain terms’ he was not allowed the flag inside the main conference hall in Liverpool.
Pro-Palestinian activists have handed out thousands of flags for a heated foreign policy debate.
Mr Wilkinson said: ‘This morning a colleague and I unfurled an EU flag. We were told in no uncertain terms to take it down.
‘There are double standards here as we have seen banners all over the place.’
Mr Corbyn has been accused by the ex chief rabbi Lord Sacks of being an anti-Semite, while one of his own MPs has said that under him Labour has become an institutionally racists party.
Jewish Labour MPs who have spoken out against his inaction, have faced abuse and threats.
Luciana Berger, a Jewish Labour MP, has been forced to have police protection accompanying her at her own party conference after she received abuse after speaking out on anti-Semitism.
She joined half a dozen other Labour MPs at a highly charged fringe meeting this week to speak out about the fear which many British Jews now experience.
She said: ‘This year, more than ever, we have experienced attacks from the left – from people who claim they share our values, who wear the same rosette as us.’
She added: ‘What maters now is draining the swamp. We need to see the Labour Party step up the investigations into complaints of anti-Semitism and get a faster, fairer, more transparent system of internal party justice.
‘The party’s new general secretary said this is her top priority and it would be dealt with by July. We are now in September and there is still that backlog.’
Mr Corbyn has faced mounting pressure to apologise over the anti-Semitism scandal – but invited to do so in a TV interview on the BBC’s Andrew Marr show on Sunday, he refused.
He said: ‘I’ll simply say this – I am an anti-racist and will die an anti-racist.
‘Anti-Semitism is a scourge in any society and I will oppose it all my life and I will continue to oppose it all my life.’
Unite leader Len McCluskey was among the hundreds of activists who waved a Palestinian flag in the conference centre
Timeline of anti-Semitic scandals which have erupted under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership
Jeremy Corbyn (pictured) has been accused of failing to tackle the racism among his supporters
The anti-Semitism scandal has dogged Labour since Jeremy Corbyn was elected leader in 2015.
Here is a timeline of the controversies:
April 2016:
Labour MP Naz Shah is suspended for anti-Semitic posts – including one in which she appeared to endorse calls for Israelis to be deported to the US.
She apologised and was given a formal warning.
Ken Livingstone goes on the radio to defend Ms Shah – but sparks fresh controversy by claiming that Hitler supported Zionism.
He is suspended by Labour but refuses to apologise and has repeated the claim many times.
He eventually quits Labour two years later, saying his suspension has become a distraction.
June 2016:
A two-month inquiry by civil liberties campaigner Shami Chakrabarti finds that Labour is not overrun by anti-Semitism.
But the launch is overshadowed when Jewish Labour MP Ruth Smeeth flees it in tears after being accused by Corbyn supporter Marc Wadsworth of colluding with the press.
Critics accuse the report of being a whitewash and Ms Chakrabarti is widely criticised for accepting a peerage from Jeremy Corbyn shortly afterwards.
October 2016:
The Home Affairs Select Committee says Labour is guilty of incompetence over its handling of anti-Semitism and of creating a safe space for people with ‘vile attitudes towards Jewish people’.
March 2018:
It is revealed that Jeremy Corbyn defended an artist who painted an anti-Semitic mural and said the offensive art should be removed.
He apologises saying he did not properly look at the picture before he made the post.
Jewish leaders take the unprecedented step of holding a demonstration outside Parliament protesting Mr Corbyn’s failure to tackle anti-Semitism.
Several Labour MPs address the crowds.
April 2018:
Marc Wadsworth is expelled from Labour after being accused of anti-Semitism.
Meanwhile, Labour Jewish MPs tell of the anti-Semitic abuse they have suffered in a powerful parliamentary debate – and round on their leader for failing to tackle it.
July 2018:
The Labour leadership sparks fresh anger by failing to fully adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of anti-Semitism
Peter Willsman, a strong ally of Jeremy Corbyn, is secretly taped ranting that Jewish ‘Trump fanatics’ invented the anti-Semitism storm engulfing Labour.
In an angry diatribe at a meeting of Labour’s ruling executive committee, he said he was ‘amazed’ there was evidence party members hated Jews.
He claimed ‘some of these people in the Jewish community support Trump – they are Trump fanatics’ before shouting: ‘So I am not going to be lectured to by Trump fanatics making up duff information without any evidence at all.’
August 2018:
Jeremy Corbyn issues a video insisting he is committed to tackling the racism – but it is panned by Jewish leaders.
Corbynistas mount a social media campaign to get deputy Labour leader Tom Watson to quit after he criticises the party’s handling of anti-Semitism.
The Daily Mail exclusively publishes photos of Jeremy Corbyn holding a wreath at a ceremony where a terrorist linked to the Munich massacre was honoured.
The Labour leader insists he was there to honour others killed – but faces fresh calls to quit over the scandal.
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