Local Labour branch refuses resignation of council candidate accused of 'pure and simple' anti-Semitism
2 min read
A council candidate accused of making anti-Semitic comments had his offer to resign rejected by the local Labour party.
Liam Moore, who has been placed under investigation by Labour central office, offered to stand down as a candidate for a Liverpool ward - but the offer was rejected by local members.
A now-deleted tweet from the Liverpool West Derby Labour Constituency Labour Party said: "Last night at the Norris Green & Croxeth branch meeting, Liam Moore apologised for past tweets that have been appropriate.
"Liam then offered his resignation as candidate for NG. This was refused, unanimously, by NH&C branch members."
A Labour source said Mr Moore had still stepped down, despite the offer being dismissed by local campaigners.
They said: "The Party is investigating this case and Liam Moore has stood down as a Labour candidate."
Mr Moore, an evangelical vicar, had been accused of "pure and simple" anti-Semitism by Labour MP Ian Austin after he posted a serious of rants about “Rothschilds Zionists”.
In August he posted on Facebook: “We are seeing a very English right wing Zionist coup mate and sadly the Labour party is infiltrated by sell-outs who would sacrifice a Labour government for their 30 pieces of silver."
And in July 2014 he posted on Twitter about “Rothschilds Zionist run Israel and world governments".
Earlier this year he got into a Twitter spat with Jewish Labour MP Luciana Berger after she welcomed the party’s pledge to be tougher on anti-Semitism, asking her: "What’s your view on Zionism and Netanyahu’s ideology of pushing the Palestinian people into the sea?"
The comments, uncovered by The Sun, could breach the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of anti-Semitism adopted by Labour earlier this year which forbids its members from blaming Jewish people for the actions of Israel.
Mr Austin had said the decision to put Mr Moore forward for the seat was a “disgrace”.
He said: “Talking about the 'Rothschilds' and 'world government' conspiracies is anti-Semitism pure and simple.
“Someone with views like this should not even be in the Labour party, let alone be selected as a candidate and the party and the leadership need to deal with it immediately.”
The West Derby Labour group has been approached for comment.
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