Conservatives investigate three candidates over anti-Semitism claims on social media Labour has called for the immediate suspension of Sally-Ann Hart, Lee Anderson and Richard Short

The Conservative Party is investigating three candidates for anti-Semitism, amid calls for their immediate suspension.

Labour wants Sally-Ann Hart, Lee Anderson and Richard Short to stand down before next week’s election, the Guardian reported.

Ms Hart, the candidate running in Amber Rudd’s former seat of Hastings, apparently shared a video implying that billionaire financier and philanthropist George Soros, who is Jewish, controls the EU, and also liked a Nazi slogan on Facebook.

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Meanwhile, Mr Anderson, standing in the Labour seat of Ashfield, was allegedly an active member of a Facebook group called Ashfield Backs Boris, where anti-Semitic conspiracy theories about Mr Soros have been shared.

Mr Short, the candidate for the Labour constituency of St Helens South and Whiston, allegedly called a Jewish journalist “a bit Zionist” and questioned her loyalty to Britain.

Labour is also asking Boris Johnson to explain his 2004 novel Seventy-Two Virgins, which the party says employs anti-Semitic tropes to describe a Jewish character.

‘Stamping out the scourge of antisemitism’

The Conservative Party stated: “Discrimination or abuse of any kind is wrong, and the Conservative party takes decisive action to deal with any incidents of hatred, abuse or intimidation. We are committed to stamping out the scourge of anti-Semitism in our society and supporting our Jewish community.

“Our complaints process is rightly a confidential one but there are a wide range of sanctions to challenge and change behaviour, including conditions to undertake training, periods of suspension and expulsion, and these are applied on a case-by-case basis.”

This development follows Friday’s leadership debate, where both Mr Johnson and Mr Corbyn were asked how they would deal with the problem of hate in politics, including anti-Semitism and Islamophobia.

Previous controversies

Two of the candidates had already been the focus of controversy during the election campaign.

Ms Hart had to apologise for causing offence after it was revealed that she had said some disabled people should be paid less than the minimum wage because they “don’t understand money”. She argued that her comments had been taken out of context.

Meanwhile, Mr Anderson was caught on microphone arranging to canvass a ‘friendly voter’ while out filming with Channel 4’s Michael Crick.

Hastings is a Tory marginal, while St Helens South and Whiston is safe Labour seat. Labour-held Ashfield is a marginal and a key target constituency for the Conservatives.