Labour frontbencher sacked for comparing Jeremy Corbyn's leadership to 'last days of Hitler'
3 min read
A Labour frontbencher has been sacked for comparing Jeremy Corbyn's "bunker" leadership to the "last days of Hitler".
A party spokesperson confirmed that Baroness Hayter, Labour's Brexit spokesperson in the Lords, had been removed from her post "with immediate effect" over the "deeply offensive" comments.
The move comes after HuffPost UK reported that Baroness Hayter - who is also Labour's deputy leader in the Lords - accused Mr Corbyn of having a "bunker mentality" and said senior figures around the leadership had refused to share key information with Labour's ruling National Executive Committee.
The peer told a meeting of the centre-left Labour First group earlier this week: "Those of you who haven’t [read the book] will have seen the film ‘Bunker’, about the last days of Hitler, where you stop receiving any information into the inner group which suggests that things are not going the way you want."
And she added: "That seems to be where we are at the moment: having the leadership in a bunker so they are not hearing in those views, that evidence, that is in conflict with what they are trying to do, to the extent that even undermines what they are trying to do.
"Because if you are trying to win an election and you don’t honestly look at the polls, then you are not going to be in a position to take the action to win."
A Labour spokesperson on Wednesday night confirmed that Baroness Hayter - who is also Labour's deputy leader in the Lords - had been sacked over the comments.
They said: "Dianne Hayter has been sacked from her frontbench position with immediate effect for her deeply offensive remarks about Jeremy Corbyn and his office.
"To compare the Labour leader and Labour Party staff working to elect a Labour government to the Nazi regime is truly contemptible, and grossly insensitive to Jewish staff in particular."
It is understood that Baroness Hayter will remain as Labour's deputy leader in the Lords as the post is elected by fellow peers.
'WE CAN'T ACT AGAINST RACISTS'
The move comes amid a bitter row in Labour over the way the party has responded to a BBC Panorama documentary which saw former party officials allege that senior figures close to Mr Corbyn had interfered in anti-semitism cases.
The party has strongly denied any meddling and has lodged a complaint with the BBC.
But it has come under fire for describing ex-party party staff who took part in the documentary as "disaffected former officials including those who have always opposed Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership".
Labour MP Wes Streeting called the move to oust Baroness Hayter a "gross over-reaction" that would only "reinforce" claims of a "bunker mentality at the top" of the party.
He added on Twitter: "This epitomises it. Nice to know that swift action is taken to protect @jeremycorbyn’s feelings, but shame we can’t act against racists."
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