The Labour Party has withdrawn its support for Azhar Ali, following accusations of antisemitism.
Azhar Ali was recorded at a meeting of the Lancashire Labour Party claiming that Israel deliberately relaxed its security in October, ahead of the Hamas attacks, following warnings of an iminent threat.
The party was still backing Ali this morning but has since changed its mind, with a spokesperson saying "new information" has emerged.
This morning, Labour's national campaign coordinator Pat McFadden said: "He’s issued a complete apology and retraction. And I hope he learns a good lesson from it because he should never have said something like that in the first place.”
The Labour Party has withdrawn its support for Azhar Ali, following accusations of antisemitism
PA
But he said that Ali's comments were "completely wrong" and were not representative of the party's views.
This evening, a party spokesperson said: “Following new information about further comments made by Azhar Ali coming to light today, the Labour Party has withdrawn its support for Azhar Ali as our candidate in the Rochdale by-election.
“Keir Starmer has changed Labour so that it is unrecognisable from the party of 2019.
“We understand that these are highly unusual circumstances, but it is vital that any candidate put forward by Labour fully represents its aims and values.
“Given that nominations have now closed, Azhar Ali cannot be replaced as the candidate.”
Ali was heard saying: "The Egyptians are saying that they warned Israel 10 days earlier … Americans warned them a day before [that] … there’s something happening. They deliberately took the security off, they allowed … that massacre that gives them the green light to do whatever they bloody want."
He has since apologised "unreservedly to the Jewish community" for the remarks, admitting that they were "deeply offensive".
This morning, the Campaign Against Antisemitism suggested the Labour Party's failure to suspend Ali was "distressingly familiar" to when Jeremy Corbyn was in charge.
Joe Glasman, the head of political and government investigations, said: "This man does not belong in a major political party, let alone in parliament, yet Labour is, incredibly, still backing his candidacy after a quick apology."
He added: "This is distressingly familiar to days that Sir Keir Starmer promised were behind us. This is not tearing antisemitism out ‘by its roots’."
The Jewish Labour Movement will not campaign in Rochdale, Mike Katz, the national chair of the organisation said.
He said Ali "destroyed his past record of allyship with the Jewish community” with his “totally reprehensible” comments.
But Katz continued: “We know how far the party has come under Keir Starmer in tackling antisemitism and that the party, from Starmer down, is as shocked and disgusted by Ali’s comments as we are.”
The Lancashire county councillor and former government adviser was made an OBE in 2020 for public service.
Apologising for the remarks, he admitted they were "deepy offensive, ignorant and false".
