Remarks I made on BBC TV’s Sunday Politics seem to have caused some controversy. Even before the credits started to roll, Twitter was going into meltdown. I had said there was no equivalence between antisemitism and Islamophobia. The former was a deranged demonisation of a people; the latter was used to shut down debate.

Cue foaming outrage. No matter that I acknowledged the existence of prejudice against Muslims, just as against Sikhs, Hindus and others. In denying Islamophobia, I was an Islamophobic bigot. And of course out poured the antisemitic comments. I was a “Zionazi” and “Mossad agent”, antisemitism claims were “bullshit”, and so predictably on.

I had been asked whether, in view of the Conservative council candidate in Pendle being suspended but then readmitted