Labour officials are facing a backlash from local activists over the decision to suspend MP Chris Williamson.

Party members in several constituencies have called on Labour to reinstate the Derby North politician, who is being investigated over a "pattern of behaviour".

Earlier this week, Mr Williamson was revealed to have told a Sheffield meeting of Momentum supporters that Labour has been "too apologetic" over antisemitism, which prompted the action against him.

But activists in Sheffield Hallam, as well as Camberwell and Peckham in south London, have voted in favour of demands for Labour to reverse his suspension.

Williamson 'working to clear his name'

In a motion said to have been passed by the Sheffield Hallam Constituency Labour Party (CLP), local members agreed to write to Labour general secretary to demand Mr Williamson is "reinstated immediately".


The motion is also said to have stated: "The allegation that Chris is downplaying antisemitism is totally unfounded.

"His comments, made at a Momentum meeting in Sheffield, were taken out of context in a deliberate attempt to ruin both the reputation of Chris Williamson MP and Jeremy Corbyn."

It is claimed to have added: "Chris is a target because he is one of the very few Labour MPs who have openly stood up to the witch-hunt of Corbyn supporters and because he has campaigned tirelessly for the much-needed democratisation of the party."

Image: Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has vowed to crack down on antisemitism in the party

Another motion, said to under consideration by members of Camberwell and Peckham CLP for debate at an upcoming meeting, claimed Mr Williamson's remarks were "taken out of context by journalists and other opponents of Jeremy Corbyn's leadership of the Labour Party".

It added: "It is the anti-Jeremy Corbyn media that should be investigated by Labour not lifelong anti-racist and socialist Chris Williamson."

A party source said the motion "seems likely to pass".

Meanwhile, Diane Abbott's Hackney North CLP was said to have passed a motion complaining allegations of antisemitism were "distracting people's attention away" from the government's record.

"It is a scandal that we are allowing ourselves to be branded as a racist party," it was claimed to have said.

Image: Ms Abbott was said to have been 'present but not involved'

Luciana Berger, a Jewish MP who quit Labour last week branding it "institutionally antisemitic", said Ms Abbott was "present but not involved" at the meeting on Thursday.

She claimed the shadow home secretary "didn't speak up, and saw the motion pass", adding: "This couldn't be further from what the party was supposed to stand for."

A spokesperson for Ms Abbott has not replied to a request for comment from Sky News.

Kensington CLP is also reported to be considering discussing a motion calling for Mr Williamson's reinstatement at an upcoming meeting.

Chris Williamson: 'We are too apologetic'

On Friday, Mr Williamson used Twitter to promote a petition against his suspension.

CLPs do not have any influence or involvement in individual disciplinary cases within Labour.

Ms Formby wrote to local party bosses last year urging them to respect the confidential nature of disciplinary proceedings.

She said: "Motions on individual cases are therefore not competent business for discussion at CLPs and will not be discussed by the NEC or any associated bodies."

Labour insiders pointed to how Sheffield Hallam activists focused on Mr Williamson's comments at the Momentum meeting, rather than the range of incidents the MP is being investigated by the party over.

A source said: "CLPs are not involved in individual disciplinary cases and can't influence them, which would be entirely inappropriate.

"Rather than looking inwards and fuelling internal divisions, we should be focusing on campaigning, developing our hugely popular manifesto and working together to fight the Tories."

Mr Williamson has expressed his regret for his "choice of words when speaking about how the Labour Party has responded to the ongoing fight against antisemitism inside our party".

He added: "I am therefore sorry for how I chose to express myself on this issue within our party. This is a fight that I want to be an ally in."

A Labour Party spokesperson said: "We completely reject claims of institutional antisemitism.

"Antisemitism complaints received since April 2018 relate to about 0.1% of our membership, but one antisemite in our party is one too many.

"We are determined to tackle antisemitism and root it out of our party once and for all."

:: CORRECTION: The original version of this article said the motion on Mr Williamson had been passed by Camberwell and Peckham CLP. This has now been corrected to say the motion is under consideration for debate by local members ahead of an upcoming meeting.