Austin urges Corbyn to suspend Momentum director in 'Holocaust hoax' row
Nearly 40 Labour MPs and peers have written to Jeremy Corbyn urging him to suspend a party official for defending a candidate who posted a Holocaust denial article.
Dudley North MP Ian Austin is among those to have signed a letter to the Labour leader saying it is 'utterly wrong' for Christine Shawcroft to remain a member of the party’s ruling National Executive Committee.
Momentum director Ms Shawcroft, a leading ally of Mr Corbyn, quit her role as chair of Labour's disputes panel on Thursday after admitting she was 'wrong and misguided' to have sent an email calling for a council candidate to have his suspension lifted.
Her admission came after Mr Corbyn was forced to insist that he was not anti-Semitic, following a week in which the party has once again become embroiled in accusations of racism.
The Labour leader was on the receiving end of a protest in Westminster after it emerged he had criticised the removal of an anti-Semitic mural in 2012.
In the letter, the group of Labour backbenchers, led by Mitcham and Morden MP Siobhan McDonagh, say they want Ms Shawcroft to be removed from the party's NEC 'immediately'.
"It is utterly wrong that somebody who defends a Labour candidate who has been suspended for Holocaust denial should be a member of Labour's governing body," the letter says.
"This is highly offensive to the Jewish community and all those of us who wish to see the scourge of anti-Semitism eradicated."
It added: "You pledged this week to be an ally in the fight against anti-Semitism. This action would represent an initial step in honouring that commitment."
The row erupted after Alan Bull, a Labour council candidate in Peterborough, reportedly shared an article on Facebook called: “International Red Cross Report Confirms the Holocaust of Six Million Jews is a Hoax.”
It was accompanied with a picture of the gates of Auschwitz, with the famous phrase ‘Arbeit Macht Frei’ (work sets you free) replaced with the phrase ‘Muh Holocaust’.
Ms Shawcroft sent an email, obtained by The Times, calling for Mr Bull to have his suspension lifted.
In a statement she said she had not seen the 'abhorrent' image posted on Facebook when she made the request.
“This week we have seen a clear expression of the pain and hurt that has been caused to Jewish members of our party and the wider Jewish community by anti-Semitic abuse and language, and by the reality of anti-Semitism being denied and downplayed by others,” she said.
“In light of this, I have decided to stand down as chair of the disputes panel to ensure my wrong and misguided questions on this case do not cause doubt or anxiety about our processes.
“We must eliminate anti-Semitism from our party and wider society.
"To do this we must make sure our processes are as robust as possible and have the faith and confidence of our members.”
There have been 300 cases of anti-Semitism referred within Labour since Mr Corbyn became leader in 2015.
