RED RAGE
Hard-left Labour MP Chris Williamson suspended for saying party should stop apologising over anti-Semitism
Chris Williamson has apologised but is now suspended from Labour as party bosses launch an investigation
A TOP Corbyn ally was today suspended from Labour for saying the party had been “too apologetic” about its anti-Semitism problem.
Derby North MP Chris Williamson apologised for the slur today, saying he "deeply regrets" his comments.
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Labour bosses initially said he could stay in the party - but performed a U-turn after a torrent of rage from the party's MPs.
Tonight they confirmed Mr Williamson would be suspended while they investigate his history of inflammatory comments.
A Labour spokesman said: "Chris Williamson is suspended from the Party, and therefore the whip, pending investigation."
It's understood party chiefs took the decision to suspend him after they discovered a "pattern of behaviour" which made it impossible to keep him in the party during the disciplinary probe.
Earlier deputy leader Tom Watson said Mr Williamson had to be suspended and probed immediately - branding his remarks “deliberately inflammatory”.
In a furious blast, Theresa May questioned why Mr Corbyn allowed the hard-left renegade to stay in Labour when Jewish MPs had been bullied out.
And Mr Corbyn’s predecessor Ed Miliband piled on the pressure by saying it was “a test of seriousness on our part about the whole issue,” adding: “Disciplinary action, not simply an apology, is required.”
The Sun Says
JEREMY Corbyn finally abandoned all pretence to be purging his party of racism by failing to sack Chris Williamson MP.
After a day-long dither, Labour has reluctantly suspended him.
Don’t expect that to last long.
Williamson may be an odious liar who shames Parliament. A man who backs Venezuela’s socialist tyrant even as he starves his people. A man now caught claiming Labour was “too apologetic” about its widespread anti-Semitism.
But his leader secretly agrees with him. If Labour really acted after reviewing Williamson’s “pattern of behaviour”, they should see Corbyn’s.
He is up to his neck in anti-Semitism. It comes so naturally it has apparently never occurred to him he’s racist. The same goes for the Momentum mob who cheered on Williamson’s Jew-baiting.
Anti-Semites and extremist cranks have poured into Labour since one of their own became leader in 2015.
And it is clear — from the whitewash report that secured Shami Chakrabarti her shameful peerage, to the reluctance over Williamson — that the party just doesn’t care.
Some decent MPs have quit already. Others need the same guts.
GMB general secretary Tim Roache demanded he be kicked out of the party altogether, tweeting: “Time for him to go.”
Senior Jewish Labour MP Dame Margaret Hodge, whose family fled the Nazis, led a chorus of MPs calling for Mr Williamson to be expelled for his repeated “Jew-baiting”.
The MP, who was temporarily suspended last year for verbally confronting Mr Corbyn over anti-Semitism, said: “Williamson's comments in Sheffield are just another example of his anti-Semitism denial.
“He's repeatedly given a platform to anti-Semitic speakers and supported their cause. Zero tolerance approach means Williamson must be suspended/whip removed, nothing less will do.”
Another Jewish Labour MP Ruth Smeeth told Radio 5Live: "The man’s a disgrace. He has no place in my party. He has become notorious for Jew-baiting."
Mr Williamson apologised after the storm of criticism - but insisted there were "very few" racists in Labour.
He said: "I deeply regret, and apologise for, my recent choice of words when speaking about how the Labour party has responded to the ongoing fight against anti-Semitism inside of our party.
PM slams Labour MP Chris Williamson for saying the party has been 'too apologetic' over anti-Semitism
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"I was trying to stress how much the party has done to tackle anti-Semitism. Our movement can never be 'too apologetic' about racism within our ranks.
"Whilst it is true that there have been very few cases of anti-Semitism in the Labour Party - something I believe is often forgotten when discussing this issue - it is also true that those few are too many."
Centrist MPs refused to accept the apology - Wes Streeting said: "I do not believe this is sincere."
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Chris Williamson: Labour MP filmed telling activists party is 'too apologetic' about anti-Semitism
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