Labour has begun an investigation into senior figures in Frank Field’s local constituency association who turned down diversity training from the Jewish Labour Group (JLG), falsely claiming that it had links to the Israeli government and Islamic State.

Minutes of a meeting, passed to The Times, recorded a discussion among senior figures in the Birkenhead Labour Party as they decided to reject the offer of training by the JLG made by Labour’s national executive committee (NEC).

The minutes were recorded in January and refer to a meeting the previous November. They state: “Diversity and equality training is to be offered by the NEC. The proposed training by the Jewish Labour Group is not going ahead due to possible links with Isis and the Israeli