Jeremy Corbyn faces questions from MPs from 4pm

Labour review anti-Semitism problem within party

Keith Vaz leads Home Affairs Committee questioning

Corbyn releases video appealing to his MPs to 'come together'

SUMMARY

Ben Riley-Smith and Kate McCann

Jeremy Corbyn has finally said he regrets calling members of Hamas and Hezbollah “friends” after months of defending the comments during a grilling on anti-Semitism before MPs.

The Labour leader defended his attempt to create dialogue in the Middle East peace process but said “with hindsight” he wished he had not used the word to describe the militant groups.

Mr Corbyn also insisted that anti-Semitism had not risen in Labour since he took office last summer despite a string of high-profile suspensions and mounting concern among the Jewish community.

He distanced himself from his “friend” Ken Livingstone, calling the former London mayor's claim that Adolf Hitler backed the creation of a Jewish state “wholly unacceptable and wrong”.

Mr Livingstone also insisted he would not repeat decision to invite people with controversial views on the state of Israel to the House of Commons as he had done while a backbencher.

However the Labour leader was defiant about alleged links between Momentum, the pro-Corbyn activist group, and anti-Semitism made by a leading Labour MP on the moderate wing.

Chuka Umunna picked out a series of examples where Momentum activists had appeared to make anti-Semitic comments during a grilling of his party leader.

Mr Corbyn criticised specific examples but said the group’s founder, Jon Lansman, had been clear that racism was unacceptable and said Momentum was engaging people disillusioned with politics.