Sajid Javid says 'Jeremy Corbyn is not a Holocaust denier' after Twitter storm

Sajid Javid has clarified comments that appeared to suggest Jeremy Corbyn was a Holocaust denier.



The Home Secretary made his position clear following criticism from Labour backbencher Clive Lewis.

He had come under fire after responding to a Twitter user with the words: "How can you even question the Holocaust[?] Please think carefully about what you are saying. Don’t be misled by Corbyn."

Mr Lewis replied on Thursday, writing: "Are you seriously accusing [Jeremy Corbyn] of being a Holocaust denier?

"Seriously I’d apologise, detract and wind your neck in.

"And whilst [you’re] at it launch an investigation into Islamophobia in your own sorry excuse for a party."

Fellow Labour MP Dawn Butler - the party's equalities spokesperson - also piled in, tweeting to Theresa May to demand "an explanation on the floor of the House".

She fumed: "One of your ministers seems to be deliberately peddling a lie. And he is the home secretary! This cannot be allowed to continue."

Corbyn is not a holocaust denier. I am happy to make that clear. My comment referred to @Muhammad_S_85 buying into Corbyn's position on anti-Semitism pic.twitter.com/ROCuCcfmXq — Sajid Javid (@sajidjavid) July 20, 2018

Mr Javid later wrote: "Corbyn is not a Holocaust denier. I am happy to make that clear.

"My comment referred to [the original user’s] buying into Corbyn’s position on anti-Semitism."

Labour has suffered further criticism in recent days after its National Executive Committee refused to adopt the International Holocaust Memorial Alliance’s definition of anti-Semitism.

Instead, the party has adopted its own examples of what consitutes anti-Semitism alongside the IHRA definition, while agreeing to consult with the Jewish community.