HUGH Kerr (Letters, July 12) accuses the BBC of bias and claims anti-Semitism doesn’t exist in The Labour Party. I watched the same Panorama programme as he did, and thought it provided strong evidence of Labour’s shameful recent record. And, of course, the programme simply added to all the other evidence that has accumulated over the past few years.

The fundamental problem arises from the politics of the hard left. When I was active in the Labour Party, from 1995 to about 2010, it had transformed itself into a modern, left-of-centre party. Despite what it said on its membership card, it couldn’t really be described as socialist; "social democratic" would have been a more accurate label. It was, of course, an enormous electoral success.

The journey to that success was started by Neil Kinnock, who famously and very publicly drove out the hard left of Derek Hatton and Militant. There remained a residual left wing in Labour, largely silent but still subscribing to the traditional hard-left tropes: that capitalism is bad; that the US, as the prime capitalist economy, is evil; and that capitalism is kept afloat by Jewish financiers. The difference now is that the hard left is in control of Labour, it still clings to its outdated stereotypes and it has been emboldened to express them.

Panorama showed interviews with seven or eight former Labour Party employees who said they had seen stark evidence of anti-Semitism; Labour’s Head of Disputes from 2009-17 gave similar evidence and didn’t want to commit to an answer when asked if Jeremy Corbyn is anti-Semitic; former Labour Party General Secretary Lord Triesman has resigned the Labour whip; and Labour’s deputy leader, Tom Watson, has spoken at length about his party’s problem and urged the leader and his acolytes to do something about it.

Mr Kerr airily dismisses all this as coming from people “with close connections to the Israeli government”. For the record, I have no connection with the Israeli government; in fact, as an airline pilot, the only destination I try to avoid is Tel Aviv, because of the attitude of many of the security staff. But what I see in Jeremy Corbyn is a man of straw who is very good at making impassioned speeches to his supporters; however, when asked to act or take responsibility for any problems arising on his watch, he can’t be seen for dust.

Doug Maughan, Dunblane.

I WAS appalled by the lack of balance in the BBC Panorama programme on Wednesday

I am not a member of the Labour Party. My late father was though. Both his parents were murdered by the Nazis and he was rescued by a Kindertransport train from Prague in 1939.

Although he liked some aspects of Israel, he could sympathise with the plight of the Palestinian people, just like many of his generation (and mine) supported the non-white people of South Africa suffering under Apartheid.

Some of the behaviour complained about in the programme (for example, blaming individual Jews for the actions of Israel or calling a person “a dirty Zionist”) is clearly unacceptable and racist.

However, attacking the ideology of Israel (called Zionism by the founders of the country as a state for Jewish people) is not racist or “anti-Semitic” (as long as they are not personally abusive). It is perfectly reasonable to question the motives of those who call such attacks “anti-Semitic”.

It is unsurprising that Jeremy Corbyn’s aides in the Labour Party have attempted to remove such complaints from investigations.

Perhaps the most telling comment made in the programme was the suggestion by Mike Creighton former Director of Labour’s Disputes Team) that Jeremy Corbyn should “make a significant speech saying that Israel had a right to exist”.

Israeli governments have always refused to countenance the return of Palestinian families forced to flee their homes by terrorist groups in the late 1940s and who have had live ever since in overcrowded refugee camps. Mr Corbyn has consistently spoken out for Palestinians and deserves credit for that.

The key issue completely omitted by Panorama was that it is not at all racist or anti-Semitic to speak out against The State of Israel (and its Zionist ideology) that continues to use its laws to confiscate Palestinian land and discriminate against Palestinian people.

John Dennis, Dumfries.

EXPERIENCE has confirmed to me that every barrel has the odd rotten apple, Westminster is no different. I am sure there are a significant number of decent, honest MPs who set out with the interests of the general public at heart, but it is obvious to anyone with the power of critical analysis that the place has more than its fair share of individuals of both sexes working to a different agenda.

Am I surprised that the investigation by QC Gemma White has discovered “deeply shocking” examples of systemic bulling, harassment and sexual exploitation in Westminster ("Drink curbs call after report on ‘appalling’ Westminster bullying", The Herald, July 12)? Well, no. This is not the first investigation to come to the same conclusion, just as at least two undercover investigations that I am aware of have shown multiple toilets in the restricted access part of the Palace of Westminster to be contaminated with cocaine.

Anyone with the time or inclination to actually pay attention to day-today activity at Westminster and not the sanitised version presented on the mainstream TV news must eventually come to the conclusion that the organisation is no longer fit for purpose. It’s long past the time when a parliamentary system created in the era of the horse and cart was replaced by something more suited to the age of space travel.

Will the QC’s report prompt fundamental change at Westminster? No it won’t. Westminster will huff and puff and slap a few wrists, may even chuck a nobody to the wolves but that is all. Why would the Establishment allow a change to a system it has used for centuries to manipulate the country in the interest of the few?

David J Crawford, Glasgow G12.

I SEE Nicola Sturgeon is complaining Scotland is getting a "Prime Minister it hasn't voted for". It would seem Ms Sturgeon needs reminding that, after the nationalists lost the 2014 referendum, Scotland acquired a First Minister it didn't vote for.

Martin Redfern, Edinburgh EH10.

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