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A prominent expelled Labour activist today declared claims of anti-Semitism in the Labour Party have been manufactured by CIA spies and the state of Israel.

Tony Greenstein was among dozens of angry protesters outside a disciplinary hearing into Marc Wadsworth, who is accused of making anti-Semitic comments in 2016.

Dozens of MPs also descended on the hearing with witness Ruth Smeeth, who stormed out of a meeting in 2016 after Mr Wadsworth accused her of working “hand-in-hand” with a right-wing newspaper.

It comes just hours after a long-awaited summit between Jeremy Corbyn and the Board of Deputies of British Jews and Jewish Leadership Council.

During last night's meeting in Westminster, Labour said it hopes to deal with the high-profile cases of Ken Livingstone and Jackie Walker by July.

(Image: PA) (Image: PA)

It is understood the party hopes to wade through the majority of anti-Semitism cases in the coming months, with a team of lawyers drafted in by new General Secretary Jennie Formby.

Mr Corbyn said last night he was "absolutely committed to rooting out antisemitism from our party and our society”.

Yet members of Labour Against the Witch Hunt at today’s hearing said there was no anti-Semitism problem.

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They chanted “reinstate Marc Wadsworth”, with one dressed as a witch. Left-wing Labour MP Chris Williamson reportedly turned up to support Mr Wadsworth.

Speaking outside his hearing Mr Wadsworth said: ""I’ve been waiting for two years for this. It’s been torture, it’s been agony, I’ve been hung out to dry.

"I’m not an anti-Semite. I’m an anti-racist."

The Mirror spoke to Tony Greenstein, who was expelled from Labour in February this year over anti-Semitism claims he brands “false and malicious”.

(Image: Dan Bloom / Daily Mirror)

He backed Peterborough candidate Alan Bull, who was accused of promoting Holocaust denial. Mr Bull's case triggered the resignation of Labour’s disputes chief Christine Shawcroft when she also lent her support.

Mr Greenstein revealed he had “exchanged e-mails” with Ms Shawcroft after she quit - and said she supported him in person at his own expulsion hearing as a “silent witness”.

When asked what was behind the anti-Semitism row, Mr Greenstein said: “The State of Israel, the State of Israel. And also the Americans I imagine.”

He added: “There isn’t a problem of anti-Semitism in the Labour Party. What there is is a problem of false accusations.

“When Corbyn became elected he’s anti-Nato, he’s anti-American intervention, if that didn’t set off alarms in the American Embassy amongst the spooks and the CIA, what else have they got to do? That’s what their job is.”

Asked if the row was about getting rid of Jeremy Corbyn he said: “Yes, yes that’s the aim, yes. Most of it. 99% of it, yes, of course.”

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He added: “In 30 years’ time, when some enterprising young researcher at universities does a Freedom of Information Act on the US files, they’ll find out how it was organised.

“We know the Israeli government was involved because of the lobby, the programme by Al Jazeera.

Asked to clarify he meant claims of anti-Semitism in Labour he said: “Yes, undoubtedly. It’s been stimulated, it’s been manufactured, it’s artificial. It didn’t come from nowhere.”

He continued: “I’m not privy to the secrets of the Israeli Embassy. All I can say is it isn’t about anti-Semitism. Who is behind it? I suspect Israel and the United States. Why? Because the United States doesn’t like Corbyn, any more than Benjamin Netanyahu does.”

Asked if Israel should exist, he said: “The people who live in Israel should continue to live there. The state itself, which is a racist apartheid state, should not exist.”

Mr Wadsworth was suspended after haranguing Ms Smeeth at the launch of Labour’s anti-Semitism report in summer 2016.

(Image: Dan Bloom / Daily Mirror)

He told her: "I saw that the Telegraph handed a copy of a press release to Ruth Smeeth MP, so you can see who's working hand in hand".

Ms Smeeth branded the comments "vile conspiracy theories about Jewish people”.

But expelled activist Stan Keable, Secretary of Labour Against the Witch Hunt and Labour Party Marxists, said outside today’s hearing: “That’s pure invention. He didn’t know she was Jewish. It’s not anti-Semitic anyway. She was working hand in hand with the right-wing press.”

He added: “The disgraced and crooked Iain McNicol, who was general secretary at the time, was accepting any accusation at all at face value - anyone who was pro-Corbyn that is.

The MPs and peers at today’s protest included Shadow Environment Secretary Sue Hayman and backbenchers Stella Creasy, Luciana Berger and Wes Streeting.

Labour peer Lord Alf Dubs, who fled the Nazis to Britain as a child, said: “We have to take a stand. I think our taking a stand like this will also push the Labour Party into taking more action, which is what we want.”

Speaking outside the hearing, Lord Dubs said he was a “total believer” in due process but “we’ve got to get on with it."

He added: “What is clear is that this strength of feeling has pushed the Labour party, the leadership of the Labour Party in a more positive direction. That’s what we’ve got to do.”

(Image: PA) (Image: PA)

Labour MP Wes Streeting slammed "people who claim to be Labour supporters and supporters of Jeremy Corbyn who think it’s appropriate to protest against a Jewish MP."

He added: “These are bad people with no moral scruples.

“And Ruth’s friends and colleagues in the House of Commons and the House of Lords weren’t prepared to allow her to walk in on her own through a protest as we saw this morning.

“Zero tolerance has to mean zero tolerance… We can’t claim to be an anti-racist party, we can’t claim to stand against all forms of abuse if we tolerate people who perpetrate it in our party.

“So I hope he’ll [Marc Wadsworth] be kicked out of the Labour Party but we’ll find out the view that the panel makes when they’ve reached their conclusion."

The panel on Mr Wadsworth’s case, which is sitting in private, is not expected to reach a conclusion today.