A prominent Jewish newspaper delivered a shattering blow to Jeremy Corbyn today - warning that he must never be PM.

In an unprecedented full-frontal attack, the Jewish Chronicle insisted the Labour leader's 'racist views' should not be rewarded on December 12.

Filling its front page with an editorial explicitly aimed at non-Jews, the newspaper said 'throughout his career' Mr Corbyn had 'allied with and supported anti-Semites'.

'How can the racist views of a party leader - and the deep fear he inspires among an ethnic minority - not be among the most fundamental of issues?' it warned.

'That is why we are seeking your attention. If this man is chosen as our next prime minister, the message will be stark: that our dismay that he could ever be elevated to a prominent role in British politics, and our fears of where that will lead, are irrelevant.'

A Labour spokeswoman said Mr Corbyn was a 'lifelong campaigner against antisemitism and other forms of racism, hatred and bigotry'.

The brutal message came as Labour's civil war rages following the dramatic resignation of deputy leader Tom Watson.

Mr Watson - who will also not be standing at the election - delivered his bombshell news last night after years of bitter infighting with mr Corbyn and his hard-Left acolytes,

In a unprecedented full-frontal attack, the Jewish Chronicle insisted the Labour leader's 'racist views' should not be rewarded

Filling its front page with an editorial explicitly aimed at non-Jews, the newspaper said 'throughout his career' Mr Corbyn (pictured in Liverpool today) had 'allied with and supported anti-Semites'

Tom Watson - who will not be standing at the election - delivered his bombshell news last night after years of bitter infighting with Jeremy Corbyn and his hard-Left acolytes

Although he insisted the decision was 'personal not political', allies made clear that the leadership was a major factor. There are rumours that more moderates could follow him out of the door.

Ian Austin and Luciana Berger, who both quit Labour in protest at the vile wave of anti-Semitism since Mr Corbyn became leader, said Mr Watson would not be going if he thought the veteran left-winger was 'fit to lead our country'.

Mr Austin urged people to vote Tory to stop Mr Corbyn getting into No10. Ms Berger, now a Lib Dem, said it was 'another nail in the coffin' for Labour.

In its editorial, the Jewish Chronicle said the 'vast majority of British Jews consider Jeremy Corbyn to be an anti-Semite' - pointing to a poll suggesting the proportion is 87 per cent.

It said: 'He has described organisations like Hamas, whose founding charter commits it to the extermination of every Jew on the planet, as his ''friends''.

'He has laid a wreath to honour terrorists who have murdered Jews. He has insulted ''Zionists'' — the word used by anti-Semites when they mean ''Jew'' because they think it allows them to get away with it — as lacking understanding of ''English irony''.

'There were some who hoped that he might change as leader. The opposite has happened.

Ex-Labour MP Ian Austin urges people to vote TORY rather than put Corbyn in power A former Labour MP today urged people to vote Tory to stop Mr Corbyn getting into No10. The extraordinary intervention came from Ian Austin, a close ally of Tom Watson, who quit the party in protest at the vile wave of anti-Semitism among activists since Mr Corbyn became leader. Mr Austin told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'If Tom thought that Jeremy Corbyn was fit to lead our country and fit to form a government, then he would have been in that Cabinet. Would he really be standing down? 'Anybody who has spoken to Tom knows what he thinks about Jeremy Corbyn. 'More importantly, they know how appalled he is, like so many other people, by the scandal of anti-Semitism that has poisoned the Labour Parry under Jeremy Corbyn's leadership.' Asked if he was advocating for the electorate to vote for Boris Johnson over Jeremy Corbyn on December 12, Mr Austin said: 'I am.' He added: 'Look, the public has to make this choice. The British people have to decide this. 'Lots of traditional Labour voters are going to be grappling with this question. 'If they have got to face up to that, then I don't think people like me should have the luxury of running away from it. 'What Jeremy Corbyn has done to the Labour Party, I don't want him to be able to do that to the country.' Advertisement

'The near total inaction of Mr Corbyn and the rest of the Labour leadership in dealing with antisemites in the party has both emboldened them and encouraged others.

'Indeed, Mr Corbyn and his allies have actively impeded action against the racists.'

The article went on: 'Instead of listening to and learning from mainstream Jewish bodies such as the Board of Deputies and Jewish Leadership Council, Mr Corbyn has treated them and their recommendations with contempt — and given support to fringe organisations set up solely to deny the existence of Labour antisemitism.

'Is it any wonder Jews worry about the prospect of Mr Corbyn as prime minister?'

A Labour spokeswoman said: 'Jeremy Corbyn is a lifelong campaigner against antisemitism and other forms of racism, hatred and bigotry. He has made it absolutely clear that antisemitism has no place in our Party and society, and that no one who engages in it does so in his name.

'The Labour Party is fully committed to the support, defence and celebration of the Jewish community. We are taking robust action to root out antisemitism in the Party, with swift suspensions and expulsions. In the last 18 months the rate at which we are dealing with cases has increased more than four-fold.

'Antisemitism complaints account for less than 0.1% of the Labour Party membership, while polls show antisemitism is far more prevalent among Conservative than Labour party supporters, and a majority of Conservative Party members hold Islamophobic views.

'Boris Johnson has described black people as 'piccaninnies' with 'watermelon smiles' and published an article in which the author boasted of being an antisemite, while his comments about Muslim women looking like 'bank robbers' and 'letter boxes' were linked to a 375 per cent rise in anti-Muslim hate crime.'

Shadow cabinet member Rebecca Long-Bailey defended Mr Corbyn but said she recognised it would 'take a long time' to restore faith between Labour and the Jewish community.

She told the BBC the rate of dealing with allegations of anti-Semitism within the party had increased 'fourfold' and that auto-expulsion had been brought in for 'serious cases'.

On winning back the Jewish vote, she said: 'I hope we do, I really hope we do, and I think it's going to take a long time because, you know, the Jewish community is rightfully hurt, they don't feel that we were doing enough or taking it seriously.

'I think we've got a lot of work to do to rebuild that trust and that's certainly something that we want to do now, and also in government.'

Some Labour moderates have vowed to continue to fight for their values in the party following the shock resignation of Mr Watson.

But his departure will be seen as a further strengthening of the grip of Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour left on the party.

Ms Berger, who has now joined the Lib Dems, told ITV's Peston: 'I think it's just another nail in the coffin for the Labour Party. You have seen lots of people standing down.

'He just in good conscience couldn't go out on the doorstep and say vote for me and get Jeremy Corbyn in Downing Street.'

Mr Austin told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'If Tom thought that Jeremy Corbyn was fit to lead our country and fit to form a government, then he would have been in that Cabinet. Would he really be standing down?

'Anybody who has spoken to Tom knows what he thinks about Jeremy Corbyn.

'More importantly, they know how appalled he is, like so many other people, by the scandal of anti-semitisim that has poisoned the Labour Parry under Jeremy Corbyn's leadership.'

Asked if he was recommending people vote for Boris Johnson over Jeremy Corbyn on December 12, Mr Austin said: 'I am.'

He added: 'Look, the public has to make this choice. The British people have to decide this.

'Lots of traditional Labour voters are going to be grappling with this question.

'If they have got to face up to that, then I don't think people like me should have the luxury of running away from it.

'What Jeremy Corbyn has done to the Labour Party, I don't want him to be able to do that to the country.'

Mr Austin said: 'I am so sorry that it has come to this, but as has always been the case, I have to do what I think is right.

'I must do everything I can to stop Jeremy Corbyn from getting into power.'

Mr Austin was elected MP for Dudley North in 2005 and served in Gordon Brown's government.

But he quit the party earlier this year accusing Mr Corbyn of 'creating a culture of extremism and intolerance'. He is not standing in Dudley North at the election.

Chief Secretary to the Treasury Rishi Sunak said: 'This is a truly devastating indictment of Jeremy Corbyn's leadership.

Ian Austin (left) and Luciana Berger (right), who both quit Labour in protest at the vile wave of anti-Semitism since Mr Corbyn became leader, said Mr Watson would not be going if he thought the veteran left-winger was 'fit to lead our country'

'Ian Austin has been a Labour MP for 14 years so he knows Corbyn better than most. He says that a vote for Corbyn's Labour would put businesses and jobs at risk, that Corbyn's economic policies would make our country worse and that his ideas on Brexit are a complete fantasy.

'This comes straight after the party's second most powerful person quit because he could no longer support Corbyn, in another hammer blow to his authority.

'Corbyn's MPs are saying what we all know – he is unfit to be Prime Minister.'

Liz Kendall, who ran against Mr Corbyn for the leadership in 2015, said she was 'very sad' to see Mr Watson go.

'I will continue to fight for our progressive, social-democratic, pro-European Labour values and know that many other MPs and members will do the same,' she said.

Andy Burnham, the Labour mayor of Greater Manchester, said Mr Watson's resignation was a great loss to the party.

'He is a loss, no doubt about it. Tom knows a lot about elections, he is a formidable campaigning force,' he told ITV's Peston programme.

Some critics of Mr Watson - a committed pro-Remainer - suggested he was quitting because he feared he could be in trouble in his West Bromwich East constituency which voted heavily for Brexit.

Mr Watson - who said he intended to focus on public health issues outside Parliament - said he would remain as deputy leader until polling day on December 12 and would be playing an 'active part' in Labour's election campaign.

He was elected to the position in 2015, at the same time as Mr Corbyn was elected leader.

Although Mr Watson (pictured with Mr Corbyn in 2016) insisted the decision was 'personal not political', allies made clear that the leadership was a major factor

During their time together at the top of the party the two men clashed repeatedly, with Mr Watson, a former ally of Gordon Brown, becoming a focus for the 'moderate' opposition in the party to Mr Corbyn.

He was publicly critical of the leadership's attempts to tackle anti-Semitism in the party and led moves to push it into supporting a second referendum on the EU, despite the entrenched resistance of the leader.

Most recently, he defied Mr Corbyn by calling for the party to back a new public vote before the country went to the polls in a general election.

His opposition to Mr Corbyn angered allies of the Labour leader and on the eve of the Labour Party conference in September, they made an unsuccessful attempt to oust him by abolishing the post of deputy leader.

Despite their differences, Mr Corbyn said he was 'proud and glad' to have worked with him over the past four years.

In recent months Mr Watson has faced intense criticism over his role in promoting the false claims of a Westminster paedophile ring made by the fantasist Carl Beech.

Beech's allegations led to a number of public figures coming under police investigation, including the former home secretary, the late Lord Brittan of Spennithorne, the former head of the armed forces, Lord Bramall, and ex-Tory MP Harvey Proctor.

After facing calls to resign by some of those involved, he said that he was 'very, very sorry' for the way events had turned out, but stopped short of apologising.