Nearly eight out of ten Labour members believe that accusations of antisemitism are being exaggerated to damage Jeremy Corbyn and stifle legitimate criticism of Israel, according to a YouGov poll for The Times.

The leader was still overwhelmingly backed by members, with 80 per cent saying that he was doing a good job and 61 per cent saying he was handling the antisemitism crisis well. Some 69 per cent supported his response to the Salisbury poisoning, after he seemed reluctant to blame the Kremlin.

There has been escalating anger among Labour MPs over Mr Corbyn’s failure to tackle antisemitism. The row began when a Facebook post emerged in which he appeared to endorse a mural. He later claimed that he had not realised it was