Derek Hatton Withdraws Labour Party Application After Anti-Semitism Claims

Decision to grant provisional membership had sparked anger from MPs.

Derek Hatton has withdrawn his application to rejoin the Labour party, just weeks after he came under fire for allegedly anti-Semitic remarks on social media.

The former Militant firebrand, who was expelled by Neil Kinnock in the 1980s, had been granted provisional membership last month by a panel of Labour’s ruling National Executive Committee (NEC).

But he was suspended just two days later, when it emerged he had tweeted in 2012 that “Jewish people with any sense of humanity need to start speaking out publicly against the ruthless murdering being carried out by Israel”.

HuffPost UK understands that the full NEC had been expected to confirm on Tuesday that Hatton’s membership should not be progressed. His withdrawal came just hours before the NEC had a chance to pass a verdict on his future.

A Labour Party spokesperson said: “Derek Hatton has withdrawn his membership application and is therefore not a member of the Labour Party.”

Although he was not a member when he tweeted his remarks about Jews, the fact that he had a provisional membership meant that the process could be halted on the grounds that readmitting him would be incompatible with the wider aims and values of the party.

Now aged 71, Hatton faced heavy criticism in the 1980s for running an illegal budget when deputy leader of Liverpool council, demanding that Margaret Thatcher’s government made up the shortfall. Read more