Dudley MP: Extremists have taken over Labour under Jeremy Corbyn

Mike Wood said he was appalled at Labour's failure to deal with hate speech following a series of instances where anti-Semitic views were expressed at conference fringe meetings.

The Dudley South MP also accused Mr Corbyn of taking Labour back to the 'dark days' of Neil Kinnock and Michael Foot, and warned that MPs with more centrist views - including Tom Watson - had been marginalised under the current hard-left regime.

Controversy reigned at fringe meetings during this week's conference in Brighton, where speaker Miko Peled suggested it was right for people to question whether the Holocaust happened, and an activist compared to Israel to Nazi Germany.

Mr Wood said: "Some of the stuff coming out of the conference was absolutely sickening, particularly at fringe events where we are told that people were denying that the Holocaust ever happened.

"It is very worrying that in some Labour circles there is an apparent acceptance of these views.

"The fact that the leader of the party talks about the occupation of Palestine does not exactly set the best example.

"He is another in the tradition of Michael Foot and Neil Kinnock.

"These people were rightly seen as being on the loony fringe of the Labour party.

"Whilst extremely dangerous, they were at least in no position to cause too much damage.

"Now they are in complete control of the Labour party. It has got to the point where even Tom Watson is singing Corbyn's praises.

"The extremists really have taken over the asylum."

In recent years Labour has been embroiled in a succession of controversial incidents linked to activists, MPs and members allegedly making anti-Semitic comments.

In October last year a Home Affairs select committee report said the party had failed to deal with anti-Semitic incidents, giving substance to claims that elements of the Labour movement were 'institutionally anti -Semitic'.

This week the party passed a motion aimed at tightening the rules on hate speech.

Meanwhile, Mr Wood said Mr Corbyn's insistence that Labour were ready to take power was 'hopelessly wide of the mark'.

"Some of them are still of the belief that they won the election in June," he said.

"They have lost three elections in a row and their response, rather than looking at why they have been rejected, is to double down and become even more extreme.

"It is ridiculous. People didn't want a spam sandwich so why would they want a double spam sandwich?"