The Lib Dems have suffered an embarrassment ahead of the Richmond Park by-election, with the seat's former Lib Dem MP quitting the party.

Earlier on Thursday afternoon, Jenny Tonge, Richmond Park MP from 1997 to 2005 and now a cross-bench peer, was suspended by the party only hours after protests from MPs over comments made at an event she chaired in Parliament.

One speaker apparently compared Israel to Islamic State, and suggested the Jews were blamed for the Holocaust.

Within an hour of her suspension, Baroness Tonge announced she was quitting the party.

She has defended her actions, denied she is anti-Semitic and said she did not hear the full "rant".


"I was chairing, I did not make any speeches, I introduced the speakers and in the course of that meeting there was a great rant", she said.

"I remember the rant very well but I don't remember hearing very much of it. It was a rant. I didn't know what this person said.

"You do get ranters at these meetings and I think the best way of dealing with them - if you challenge them they go on and on and on and on - the best way is to just say 'yes, thank you very much, next speaker'."

Image: Leader of the Commons David Lidington has called for an investigation

A few hours before her suspension, Tory MP David Davies complained about the event to the Leader of the Commons, David Lidington, during Business Questions in the Commons.

"May we have a debate on the use to which these premises may be put following reports that outrageously a member of the House of Lords presided over an event at which Israel was compared to Islamic State, and the Jews were even blamed for their own genocide?", said Mr Davies.

"Could we discuss this and also whether we should be issuing an apology for these outrageous comments to the Israeli government and the Jewish people."

Mr Lidington replied: "I read the newspaper reports of the event in question and I confess I was genuinely horrified by the speech that was reported there.

"I don't want to treat every newspaper article as gospel but I think we should all be very concerned about what happened there.

"And I hope that since this appears to be an event organised by a leading member of the Liberal Democrat party, that the leader of the party does launch an immediate and thorough investigation so we can get to the truth and any appropriate disciplinary action can be taken."

Goldsmith: 'By-election is Heathrow referendum'

After her suspension, Baroness Tonge told Sky News: "I don't want the party to be embarrassed by my actions any more and I want to be free to say and do what I please."

"We need an urgent definition of anti-Semitism.

"At the moment anyone who criticises Israel is accused of it."

Baroness Tonge also criticised the Israeli Embassy.

"They are trying to attack the Lib Dems as they do Labour. They like to be in control of things."

The Baroness has a long history of support for Palestine, and making controversial comments about Israel.

She has previously said she has been to Gaza with Jeremy Corbyn and met Hamas leaders with him.

In 2012, she had been ordered to resign from the Lib Dem whip in the Lords by Nick Clegg after another row over anti-Semitism.

:: Labour MPs want party to back Lib Dems against Zac Goldsmith

Her suspension came on the day the Tories moved the writ for the Richmond Park by-election, triggered by the resignation of Conservative MP Zac Goldsmith over Heathrow expansion, to be held on 1 December.

Senior Lib Dems were alarmed earlier this week when Baroness Tonge appeared to be keen to play a high-profile role in the by-election campaign of the party's candidate, Sarah Olney.

In another setback for the Lib Dems ahead of the by-election, UKIP announced it would not be fielding a candidate against Mr Goldsmith, in a move seen as a minor boost for the former Tory MP.

Baroness Tonge is seen by many senior Lib Dems as a major embarrassment to the party, which has faced it's own controversy over anti-Semitic comments in the way Labour has over the past year.

