Labour’s new Baroness backed far-left anti-Semites including Ken Livingstone
Martha Osamor - mother of shadow minister Kate - signed an open letter in support of activists who'd been kicked out of Labour
A LABOUR activist who has been given a seat in the House of Lords by Jeremy Corbyn has defended far-left anti-Semites, it emerged today.
Martha Osamor - mother of a shadow minister - signed a letter in support of bigots who were kicked out of Labour.
And she claimed the anti-Semitism scandal was "a tool to intimidate activists on the left".
Ms Osamor, whose daughter Kate is Shadow International Development Secretary, was today appointed as a peer by Mr Corbyn.
It has now emerged that when Labour's anti-Semitism crisis first broke out in 2016, she spoke out in support of those accused of wrongdoing.
She signed a public letter to the party's general secretary, saying: "We are concerned about the recent suspensions of committed Labour party members for alleged anti-Semitism which undermines serious discussion and thinking."
The letter went on to back figures such as Ken Livingstone, Jackie Walker and Tony Greenstein.
Mr Livingstone was suspended for comparing Zionists to Hitler, while Ms Walker claimed Jews financed the slave trade and Mr Greenstein once said, "Gay Zionists make me want to puke."
The open letter also hinted at support for the view that Zionists worked with the Nazis during the 1930s.
It said: "It appears allegations of anti-Semitism are being used to stifle the sharing of information on some of the uncomfortable events that took place during the Shoah (Holocaust)."
And it said that anti-Semitism was being used to discredit Labour's leadership - a view denounced by Mr Corbyn himself.
Gideon Falter of the Campaign Against Anti-Semitism blasted her appointment tonight, saying: "Ms Osamor is one of the foremost defenders of disgraced Labour figures suspended or expelled over anti-Semitism allegations, including Ken Livingstone, Jackie Walker and Tony Greenstein.
"She has compared the suspension of Labour members over alleged antisemitism to the McCarthy era and the Salem witch trials.
"Yet again, Mr Corbyn has sent the Jewish community a two-fingered salute, and the Labour party has looked on inertly."
Ms Osamor has been a Labour activist for decades, but was banned from becoming an MP in the 80s because she was too radical.
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Asked about the letter she signed, she told Guido Fawkes: "I am and always have been implacably opposed to anti-Semitism and have spent my life as an anti-racist campaigner.
"As Jeremy has said clearly, raising concerns about anti-Semitism is not a smear.
"I welcome Jennie Formby’s recent actions as Labour’s new general secretary to ensure there is no place for anti-Semitism in the Labour party."
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