Chris Williamson blocked from standing for party along with Stephen Hepburn and Roger Godsiff

This article is more than 10 months old

This article is more than 10 months old

Labour has blocked the leftwing campaigner Chris Williamson from standing as a candidate in the general election after he was suspended over accusations he had downplayed antisemitism in the party.

The MP for Derby North was one of three former Labour MPs who were told they will not stand as candidates following a day-long meeting of the party’s ruling body.

A decision has not yet been made by the national executive committee (NEC) on the future of the former minister Keith Vaz, who was given an unprecedented six-month ban from parliament for offering to buy cocaine for sex workers and obstructing inquiries by the standards commissioner.

He is one of six prospective candidates who will face questions this week from an NEC endorsement panel, consisting of three NEC members, before the party decides whether they can stand.

It comes amid mounting criticism of the party over its decision to allow Vaz to keep the party’s whip and membership, despite a damning verdict from the Labour-led standards committee.

Martin Bell, the anti-sleaze campaigner who unseated the scandal-hit Tory MP Neil Hamilton in Tatton in 1997, told the Guardian he would endorse a local independent candidate if Labour chooses to allow Vaz to run.

“I saw the behaviour of Vaz for myself during a standards and privileges committee inquiry when I was an MP. I think it would be important for someone to take a stand against him if Labour let him run as their candidate,” he said.

Bell, a former war reporter known for his white suit, stood against Hamilton after the Guardian accused the Tory MP of taking “cash for questions” from Mohamed al-Fayed, the owner of Harrods.

Wednesday’s meeting of the NEC was made up of representatives of unions, MPs and party members. It had endorsed about 600 candidates out of 632 by the early evening.

Williamson was suspended in February after he was recorded on video telling a meeting that Labour had been “too apologetic” over antisemitism allegations that had led to the party being “demonised”.

He was readmitted to the party and issued with a formal warning after a hearing of an NEC antisemitism panel in June, prompting an outcry from MPs, peers and Jewish groups. He was suspended again in July.

Labour also imposed a separate suspension on 3 September over additional allegations of misconduct. Last month, Williamson lost a high court bid to be reinstated to the party.

The Jarrow MP, Stephen Hepburn, was also kicked off the party’s candidates’ list over allegations of sexual harassment. Hepburn, 59, allegedly targeted a female party member in her 20s at an Indian restaurant 14 years ago, according to HuffPost.

The Labour party has referred the case to its ultimate disciplinary body, the national constitutional committee. Hepburn has previously said he “completely refutes” the allegation.

Roger Godsiff, the Birmingham Hall Green MP, has also been dropped as a candidate, although he never lost the Labour whip, a source confirmed.

Godsiff faced a re-selection battle after Labour members demanded a trigger ballot in his constituency following a row over his support for demonstrators against LGBT equality lessons in a Birmingham primary school.

Godsiff declined to comment.

Hepburn and Williamson have been approached for a comment.

Diane Abbott was among NEC members calling for Vaz to stand down. She told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme last week: “I think he should consider his position. I think he himself should agree not to be a candidate.”

Other shadow ministers have told the Guardian that Vaz, himself an NEC member, could become a distraction during what is expected to be a hard-fought election campaign. “Right now, the Tories are seen as the party of sleaze. We don’t need this,” said one.

However, the NEC has received letters of support from community groups and fellow MPs calling for Vaz to be endorsed as a candidate, informed sources have said. “Keith is like an errant brother. He has not been suspended [by Labour] and therefore it is hard to see on what grounds the party can decide to stop him from standing again,” a senior party source said.

If Vaz stands and is re-elected, he will be unable to take up his seat until his suspension ends. He could then face a recall petition to give voters in Leicester East the chance to oust him.

He could face further action from the committee over comments posted to his personal website that appeared to criticise the inquiry report, the Commons was told.