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Starmer sacks Rebecca Long-Bailey for sharing 'anti-Semitic article' | |
(32 minutes later) | |
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has sacked Rebecca Long-Bailey for sharing an article containing an "anti-Semitic conspiracy theory". | |
Mrs Long-Bailey retweeted an interview with actor and Labour supporter Maxine Peake. | |
The shadow education secretary - who was beaten to the party leadership by Sir Keir - later said she had not meant to endorse all aspects of the article. | |
But Sir Keir said he had to restore trust with the Jewish community. | |
A spokesman for the Labour leader said: "This afternoon Keir Starmer asked Rebecca Long-Bailey to step down from the shadow cabinet. | |
"The article Rebecca shared earlier today contained an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory. | |
"As leader of the Labour Party, Keir has been clear that restoring trust with the Jewish community is a number one priority. Anti-Semitism takes many different forms and it is important that we all are vigilant against it." | |
In the article, Ms Peake discussed the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. | |
She said: "The tactics used by the police in America, kneeling on George Floyd's neck, that was learnt from seminars with Israeli secret services." | |
In a statement on Twitter, Mrs Long-Bailey said she had issued a clarification of her retweet of the article "agreed in advance by the Labour Party Leader's Office". | |
But she added: "After posting I was subsequently instructed to take both this agreed clarification and my original retweet of Maxine Peake's interview down. | |
"I could not do this in good conscience without the issuing of a press statement of clarification. | |
"I had asked to discuss these matters with Keir before agreeing what further action to take, but sadly he had already made his decision." |