A Labour MP has accused Jeremy Corbyn of "supporting and defending" extremists and anti-Semites as the racism row convulsing the party refuses to go away.
The intervention from Midlands MP Ian Austin came as a number of senior Scottish Labour politicians entered the fray by urging the wider party to adopt the international definition of anti-Semitism in full as set out by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance[IHRA].
Mr Austin, whose adoptive parents lost relatives in the Holocaust, lashed out at his party’s leader after it was revealed he is facing disciplinary action for clashing with Ian Lavery, the party Chairman, over the National Executive Committee's failure to fully adopt the IHRA’s definition of anti-Semitism.
He becomes the second Labour MP to face suspension after the party launched a disciplinary inquiry into Labour veteran Margaret Hodge, who publicly called Mr Corbyn an anti-Semite.
Earlier this week, the UK's three main Jewish newspapers united to publish the same front page, warning a Corbyn-led government would pose an "existential threat to Jewish life".
Mr Austin told BBC Radio 4 the anti-Semitism row had left him "deeply ashamed" of the party.
He accused Mr Corbyn of introducing to Labour a more "extreme" brand of politics, arguing: "Somebody with views and history like his isn't really suited to the leadership of a mainstream political party."
The backbencher also said the Labour leader had in the past supported and defended “all sorts of extremists and in some cases, frankly, anti-Semites".
The NEC did not include within its new code of conduct the full definition of anti-Semitism - including illustrative examples – as set out by IHRA.
Labour's code explicitly endorses the body’s working definition of anti-Semitism and includes a list of behaviours likely to be regarded as anti-Semitic copied word-for-word from the international organisation's own document. But it omits four examples from the IHRA list:
*accusing Jewish people of being more loyal to Israel than their home country;
*claiming that Israel's existence as a state is a racist endeavour;
*requiring higher standards of behaviour from Israel than other nations and
*comparing contemporary Israeli policies to those of the Nazis.
Labour has pointed out that while these examples are not reproduced word for word, they are covered in the new code.
Mr Austin insisted allegations he had "screamed abuse" at Mr Lavery, sparking the disciplinary proceedings, were false but he admitted there had been a "heated discussion".
"I said that I thought the NEC's decision was a disgrace,” said the Labour backbencher. "I grew up listening to my dad tell me how he'd escaped from the Holocaust and how his mum and sisters were murdered in Treblinka [concentration camp] and that led to me joining the Labour Party as a teenager determined to fight racism," he added.
In Scotland, Labour MSPs Monica Lennon, Jackie Baillie, Anas Sarwar, Daniel Johnson and Colin Smyth all expressed their support for the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism to be accepted in its entirety.
In a social media post, Ms Lennon, Scottish Labour's communities, social security and equalities spokeswoman, said the priority now was to “rebuild the trust and confidence of Jewish people who feel let down and hurt by the conduct of some Labour members”.
She insisted Mr Corbyn and Richard Leonard, the Scottish Labour leader, were “both committed to fighting anti-Semitism”.
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