Labour has suspended a party member who posted a Facebook status claiming the Holocaust was “a political tool” used by Israel.

John McAuliffe, who writes for online publications and says he is a foreign affairs specialist, claimed Israel had established “a financial racket in the West”.

In the online post he wrote: “The Holocaust has been the most useful political tool of the Zionist government in Israel to establish a financial racket in the West, whereby Israel receives an unlimited sum for the duration of its existence.

“The large level of poverty in Israel among Holocaust survivors shows they don’t care about the emotional impact they are trying to generate.

“It is about money and military technology. This further paints a clearer picture of the divide between Zionism and Judaism, and their incompatibility.”

It is not clear when Mr McAuliffe posted the comments, but a Labour spokeswoman confirmed today that he had been suspended from the party pending an investigation.

He is the latest in a line of party activists and members to face investigation for antisemitic comments.

In a further post on Facebook on Friday, Mr McAuliffe appeared to claim that the Shoah was, "for Israel...purely a means to extort taxpayer funds from gullible countries which, in other political channels, it attributes blame for the Holocaust (even 7 decades on, and even countries that had no active role in it).

"This state of affairs makes one thing abundantly clear. The Zionist government of Israel is incompatible with Judaism and Jewish history."

Party leaders including Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell have called for those making Jew-hate remarks to be investigated and thrown out of the party.