Peter Willsman should 'consider his position' over anti-Semitism row, says Labour's leader in the Lords
3 min read
Peter Willsman should "consider his position" on Labour’s ruling national executive committee over his comments about Jewish people, a member of the Shadow Cabinet has declared.
Baroness Smith, who is Labour’s leader in the House of Lords, also said the left-wing activist's apology over the remarks did not go far enough.
Mr Willsman, an ally of Jeremy Corbyn, was secretly recorded at the last NEC meeting claiming some members of the Jewish community complaining about anti-Semitism in the Labour party were "Trump fanatics".
He has vowed to undergo equalities training and said he was "wholly determined" to root anti-Jewish hatred out of the Labour party.
But Baroness Smith told Radio Five Live: "I think sometimes people say an apology isn’t always enough. And certainly, Pete Willsman, who I’ve known for many years, should not be allowed to make such awful and appalling comments.
"It’s one thing saying you want evidence, that’s quite acceptable. But I think the tone of which he spoke, and what he said in that, isn’t acceptable. Now he’s made an apology. I think for most people, I don’t think it goes far enough."
She added: "I think sometimes things almost can’t be unsaid. There are things that happen many years ago, and people look back on their lives and think, actually that’s not the person I am now, I wouldn’t say that now, I understand better now.
"But this was very recent, and I think certainly it damages him in standing for the NEC. But I think he ought to consider his position.
"This isn’t just an ordinary party member. This is somebody on the ruling body. Our National Executive Committee. That is absolutely key, that we can’t have people making these comments at meetings of our ruling body of the Labour Party."
MCDONNELL: ANTI-SEMITISM HAS SHAKEN US TO THE CORE
The comments came as Jeremy Corbyn apologised for hosting an event in Parliament at which the Israeli government was compared to the Nazis.
The Labour leader spoke at a ‘Never Again - for Anyone’ event on Holocaust Memorial Day in 2010.
The event featured Hajo Meyer - a Jewish survivor of Auschwitz and an anti-Zionist - who repeatedly made the comparison between the Nazis and Israel.
The Labour leader told the Times: "Views were expressed at the meeting which I do not accept or condone.
"In the past, in pursuit of justice for the Palestinian people and peace in Israel/Palestine, I have on occasion appeared on platforms with people whose views I completely reject. I apologise for the concerns and anxiety that this has caused."
Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell this morning said he backed the Labour leader’s statement, and vowed to “resolve” the party’s anti-Semitism troubles “as soon as possible”.
He told Sky News: “None of us fail to appreciate the... way this has upset people including ourselves. It’s really shaken us to the core, really. But we’ll resolve it. We’ve got to.
“The key issue for me has always been, we’ve got to resolve it within the Labour Party, certainly, but also, members of the Jewish community are really suffering out there.
“We’ve had a massive increase in attacks on the Jewish community, daubing of cemetries - it’s appalling that Jewish schools have to have security guards with them as well.
“So we’ve got to resolve the issue within our party and then get out there to assist the Jewish community, campaign against anti-Semitism within our society overall.”
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