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John McDonnell has said Labour must be 'ruthless' in stamping out anti-Semitism admitting the party has not been "fast enough" in dealing with it.

It comes as a former MP says he's leaving the party over the ongoing problem and there are reports that Jewish MP Luciana Berger may also go.

The Shadow Chancellor said: "I want to sort this issue out in our party because I want us to be contributing to tackling it in wider society.

"I don't want to live in a society where Jewish graves are daubed and where children going to Jewish schools have to have protection.

He said the party's general secretary Jennie Formby had doubled the staff, brought in a senior lawyer and multiplied the number of committees dealing with the issue.

But admitted the response had been too slow.

"We've got to be ruthless about this," he told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show.

It comes as reports that Jewish MP Luciana Berger could leave because of the horrific anti-Semitic abuse she has suffered.

Meanwhile former Labour vice chairman Michael Dugher has said he is intending to leave the party, saying he now regards it as "institutionally anti-Semitic".

Mr Dugher, who was elected as MP for Barnsley East in 2010 and left Parliament in May 2017, claimed the party he joined nearly three decades ago "no longer exists".

Writing in the Sun on Sunday, Mr Dugher said the Labour party had repeatedly failed to "adequately tackle anti-Semitism".

The now chief executive of UK Music said: "I will continue to have lots of dear friends in the Labour Party, including many talented MPs and hard-working local councillors who are fantastically dedicated public servants.

"Yet in all good conscience, I can no longer justify paying subs to a party which I now regard as institutionally anti-Semitic."

(Image: PA)

He said situations where prominent Jewish Labour MPs - Ruth Smeeth and Luciana Berger - needed police protection "made him want to cry", and expressed concern at the "attitude" of shadow chancellor John McDonnell after Ms Berger was facing a vote of no confidence from her local party.

Mr McDonnell insisted again on Sunday that the move to censure the MP was due to concern she may join a breakaway party, not over her attacks on Jeremy Corbyn's handling of anti-Semitism.

Mr McDonnell said that stamping out anti-Semitism from the party had become a "mission" for him.

And he insisted that the party had a "no tolerance" policy towards anti-Semitism.

(Image: PA)

Labour disclosed this week it had received 673 allegations of anti-Semitism by its members over the past 10 months, leading to 12 individuals being expelled.

A party spokesman said the numbers involved amounted to around 0.1% of the total membership roll, but added: "One anti-Semite in our party is one too many."

Jeremy Corbyn came under intense pressure last year over allegations that under his leadership Labour had not taken enough action to deal with anti-Semitic remarks and behaviour among its ranks.

In September, the ruling National Executive Committee adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's definition in full, after coming under attack for initially omitting some of its examples of anti-Semitic behaviour.