No action will be taken by the Labour Party against an MP who was the subject of a complaint from antisemitism campaigners, Sky News understands.
Labour Against Antisemitism (LAAS) submitted a formal complaint about a post written by Clive Lewis, the Labour MP for Norwich South, which they argued blamed Jews for the riots that took place across UK towns and cities at the end of July and into the beginning of this month.
In the post on X on 10 August, Mr Lewis replied to an article in The Guardian which reported the number of dead following an Israeli attack on a Gaza shelter and wrote: “The link between the daily inhumanity being meted out to Palestinians and rising Islamophobia in the UK, are not unconnected.
“The inhumanity being shown to one is giving ‘permission’ for the other.
“These actions diminish us all.”
Alex Hearn, LAAS co-director, told Sky News Mr Lewis’s post was “highly irresponsible” and that it should result in his “immediate suspension”.
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He pointed to the recent rise in antisemitic incidents and said it was “very concerning” that people from across the political spectrum had “fantasised that ‘Zionists’ and Israel are to blame for unrest across Britain”.
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In a statement to Sky News, Mr Lewis, who has been an MP since 2015, said: “Combatting antisemitism and advocating for Palestinian human rights and addressing broader Islamophobia, are not mutually exclusive goals.
“We have a responsibility as politicians to ensure all minorities feel safe here in the UK and to advocate for the upholding of human rights abroad.
“Differences of opinion as how best to do this should, of course, always be encouraged. But attempting to shut down and silence those seeking to highlight these issues is a dangerous path and one that is fundamentally, wrong.”
A Labour spokesperson said: “All complaints are treated seriously and thoroughly assessed in line with our rules and procedures.”
Source Agencies
