Former London mayor accused of antisemitism by fellow Labour MPs after he sought to defend suspended MP Naz Shah

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

Labour is facing numerous calls to suspend the former London mayor Ken Livingstone after he was accused of antisemitism and making offensive comments about Hitler supporting Zionism.

Labour MPs demand Livingstone's suspension as antisemitism row deepens - Politics live Read more

Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour leader, is under pressure to act after at least 20 MPs, including Sadiq Khan, Labour’s current London mayoral candidate, called for him to be expelled or investigated.

It is understood the deputy leader, Tom Watson, is also angry and offended by the comments and concerned about their potentially damaging effect on the electoral prospects of hundreds of candidates.

Tensions were running high in the party on Thursday as John Mann, the chair of the all-party group on antisemitism, confronted his colleague and branded him a “Nazi apologist”.

However, Livingstone has refused to apologise, saying that those who criticise Israel should not be confused with antisemites.

The row broke out after Livingstone appeared on BBC London to defend Naz Shah, the Bradford West MP suspended this week for antisemitic remarks made in 2014.

Shah, who has apologised fully, was suspended for promoting a Facebook post in 2014 suggesting Israelis should be deported and talking about “the Jews rallying” to support a poll about the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Naz Shah: timeline of events leading to MP's suspension from Labour Read more

During the BBC interview, Livingstone said Hitler had supported Zionism “before he went mad and ended up killing 6 million Jews” and claimed there was a “well-orchestrated campaign by the Israel lobby to smear anybody who criticises Israeli policy as antisemitic”.

The veteran politician also said accusations of antisemitism were part of a campaign against the Labour leader.

“Frankly, there’s been an attempt to smear Jeremy Corbyn and his associates as antisemitic 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,” he said.

Challenged about his comments on BBC News, Livingstone said people should not confuse criticising the government of Israel with being antisemitic. He said you would not find anyone in the Labour party saying anything antisemitic without being expelled recently.

Livingstone was confronted by Mann, who called him a “disgusting Nazi apologist” and then repeated his accusations to Livingstone live on the BBC’s Daily Politics. “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.”

On the same programme, Livingstone defended himself, saying he was only repeating historical facts and argued the row would die down once people had actually seen his words. He said he had only mentioned Hitler because he was answering a question posed to him.

Labour has not responded formally to calls for Livingstone’s suspension, but Khan made it clear on Thursday that he thought the politician should no longer be a member of the party, saying the comments were “appalling and inexcusable”.

Labour MPs Jess Phillips, Wes Streeting, Yvette Cooper, Tristram Hunt, Stella Creasy, Liz Kendall, Conor McGinn, Luciana Berger, Gavin Shuker, Dan Jarvis, Alison McGovern and John Woodcock were also among those calling for him to be suspended.

Woodcock, a former chair of the Labour Friends of Israel, said Livingstone was chair of the party’s international policy commission, and that his comments suggested he must be “actively seeking suspension and notoriety”.

Corbyn's Labour must be more decisive on antisemitism claims Read more

The rows over Shah and Livingstone have been going on amid wider claims that the party has failed to get a grip on antisemitism among some of its members.

Lord Levy, the former fundraiser for Tony Blair, and Lady Neuberger, a crossbench peer and rabbi, said the comments highlighted a wider problem with antisemitism within some elements of the left.

Levy said antisemitism was an issue across political divides but appeared more prominent in his own party. He told BBC’s Newsnight that the case of Shah left him “scratching his head with despair as to how people like this can enter our parliament with such a lack of knowledge, discretion and sensitivity”.

Neuberger claimed the issue in Labour was attached to Jeremy Corbyn becoming leader and “an issue within the hard left”.

If Livingstone were to be expelled from Labour, it would be his second expulsion; the first being when he put himself forward as an independent candidate for the London mayoralty in 2000. It is also not the first time he has been in hot water over accusations of antisemitism, having been investigated for likening a Jewish reporter to a Nazi concentration camp guard in 2005.

The politician more recently angered colleagues when he said the shadow minister Kevan Jones, who has suffered depression, “might need some psychiatric help”. Livingstone initially refused to apologise, then agreed to do so.

He sits on Labour’s national executive committee, and chairs its international policy commission but was sidelined by Corbyn from a review of Trident and defence, which is now being led by Emily Thornberry.