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Shadow minister calls for suspension of Naz Shah over Israel posts Jeremy Corbyn rejects call to suspend Naz Shah over Israel posts
(35 minutes later)
A shadow cabinet member has called for the suspension of Labour MP Naz Shah after she apologised for a series of Facebook posts in which she suggested Israel should be relocated to the US. The Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, has rejected calls from the shadow energy secretary, Lisa Nandy, to suspend the backbench MP Naz Shah over antisemitic posts on social media.
But as Lisa Nandy, the shadow energy secretary, was calling for the Bradford West MP to be sacked, Jeremy Corbyn issued a statement indicating that no further action would be taken. Nandy told the BBC’s Daily Politics programme that she believed Labour should “suspend anybody who makes antisemitic comments, in line with our policy, and investigate it.”
Nandy told the BBC’s Daily Politics programme that Shah should be suspended from the party pending an investigation into her pre-election Facebook posts. Nandy said that was the party’s procedure for anyone accused of antisemitism, and that Shah should not be exempt. But in a statement released shortly before he faced David Cameron at prime minister’s questions, Corbyn said he had accepted the “fulsome” apology of the Bradford West MP.
The Labour leader said he was not withdrawing the whip from Shah. Corbyn said: “What Naz Shah did was offensive and unacceptable. I have spoken to her and made this clear. These are historic social media posts made before she was a member of parliament. Naz has issued a fulsome apology. She does not hold these views and accepts she was completely wrong to have made these posts. The Labour party is implacably opposed to antisemitism and all forms of racism.” Corbyn said: “What Naz Shah did was offensive and unacceptable. I have spoken to her and made this clear. These are historic social media posts made before she was a member of parliament. Naz has issued a fulsome apology. She does not hold these views and accepts she was completely wrong to have made these posts.”
Shah stepped down as parliamentary private secretary to the shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, on Tuesday. He added: “The Labour party is implacably opposed to antisemitism and all forms of racism.”
In a series of social media posts, Shah said Israel should “relocate to the US” and posted an article that likened Zionism to al-Qaida. Cameron seized on Shah’s case in the Commons, saying it was “quite extraordinary” that an MP who appeared to have suggested Israelis should be deported to the US could continue to receive the Labour whip.
Shah, who was elected MP for Bradford West last May, shared a picture of Israel’s outline superimposed on to a map of the US under the headline “Solution for Israel-Palestine Conflict – Relocate Israel into United States”, with the comment “problem solved”. Shah has apologised for the posts, and on Tuesday she stepped down as the parliamentary private secretary to the shadow chancellor, John McDonnell.
The post shared in 2014 – nine months before Shah became an MP – went on to say that Americans would “welcome Israelis with open arms” and that the relocation would bring peace to the Middle East by ending “foreign interference”. In a number of social media posts before she became an MP, Shah said Israel should “relocate to the US” and posted an article that likened Zionism to al-Qaida.
Shah has since apologised, saying: “I deeply regret the hurt I have caused.” She shared a picture of Israel’s outline superimposed on to a map of the US under the headline: “Solution for Israel-Palestine Conflict – Relocate Israel into United States,” along with the comment: “Problem solved.”
The post went on to say Americans would “welcome Israelis with open arms”, and the relocation would bring peace to the Middle East by ending “foreign interference”. The post suggested the US had “plenty of land” to accommodate Israel as a 51st state, allowing Palestinians to “get their life and their land back”.
Alongside the post, Shah added a smiley-face emoji and suggested she would lobby the prime minister to adopt the plan.
A series of incidents in recent months have raised concerns among some in the Labour party about whether it has been tough enough in combating antisemitism.
Nandy said on Wednesday: “We have a policy that people who make antisemitic remarks are suspended and an investigation carried out … and the policy ought to be followed without any exception.”
She said she had made her view known to the leader’s office, and Corbyn was “handling it personally, which is right as the leader of the Labour party.”