GAZA RANT CRISIS Labour descend into chaos after second wannabe MP caught ranting about ‘f***ing Israel’
A SECOND wannabe MP plunged Labour into chaos after ranting about “f***g Israel”.
Graham Jones has been suspended with leader Sir Keir Starmer already under fire over an anti-Semitism “shambles”.
Jones was last night set to be grilled by party chiefs after claiming Brits volunteering for the Israel Defence Forces “should be locked up”.
It comes after the party suspended Rochdale candidate Azhar Ali, who claimed Israel allowed the October 7 Hamas attacks so it could invade Gaza.
Sir Keir yesterday insisted his party had “changed” from the Jeremy Corbyn era before audio emerged of Jones, who is seeking election in Hyndburn, where he used to be MP.
He and Ali made their “appalling” comments at the same Lancashire Labour Party meeting.
The Jewish Labour Movement accused Jones of seeking to “inflame tensions further”.
Tory MP Jonathan Gullis said: “What a disgusting and odious man Graham Jones is. The anti-Semitic rot in Labour clearly still lingers.”
Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said Sir Keir dragged his feet over Ali, despite boasting he had taken “tough and decisive action”.
He added: “It should be the simplest thing to do the right thing and stand up against anti-Semitism. And it clearly is not decisive because Labour have been backing their man throughout this and have only done yet another U-turn because of the headlines.”
Lawyer Martin Forde, who led a review into the party’s culture, said its handling of the row was “shambolic”.
It follows the party’s switch on its £28billion green energy plan.
Lord Hague, ex-Tory leader, said: “Keir Starmer’s got so many U-turns, he’s really going around in circles.”
Why can't Labour replace Azhar Ali and what happens if he wins?
- Sir Keir Starmer has withdrawn his support for Azhar Ali - but the wannabe MP will still be on the Rochdale ballot paper as Labour's candidate on February 29.
- This is because Electoral Commission rules stipulate you can only pull out of a race if a withdrawal notice is submitted 19 days before the poll.
- News of Mr Ali's October 7 remarks came well after this date, so his title as Labour's candidate will be on all ballot papers come by-election day.
- If Mr Ali wins the by-election he will not be a Labour MP. Rather, he will sit in the Commons as an independent. This is because Sir Keir has effectively removed the whip Labour.
- Sir Keir could re-instate the whip in weeks or months to come, meaning Mr Ali could be a Labour MP in the future. But the party has indicated it has no plans of doing so for now.
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