18:36

The Labour MP, Chris Williamson, faces a dressing down from party officials after he helped to arrange a screening in parliament of a film defending Jackie Walker, an activist suspended from the party over comments about antisemitism.



A party spokeswoman said it was “completely inappropriate” for the Derby North MP to have booked a room in parliament next Monday for a screening of the film, titled Witch Hunt.

Labour’s chief whip, Nick Brown, and the general secretary, Jennie Formby, are set to contact Williamson to stress their displeasure at his actions, and to ensure he cancels the booking.

Witch Hunt takes a sceptical look at claims that Labour has experienced a problem with some antisemitic behaviour under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, focusing particularly on the case of Walker, who has been suspended from the party for more than two years.

Walker was initially suspended after she wrote about Jewish people as “financiers of the sugar and slave trade”, but was then reinstated. She was suspended again in September 2016 after saying she had not found a definition of antisemitism she could work with, and questioning why Holocaust Memorial Day was not more wide-ranging. She is reportedly facing a party hearing next month.

The Labour spokeswoman said: