A third Labour politician has been spoken to during the party’s investigation into the meeting in Rochdale at which by-election candidate Azhar Ali was recorded making antisemitic remarks.
There is no suggestion that Hyndburn councillor Munsif Dad, who leads the local authority’s Labour group, made inappropriate comments at the meeting and no further action has been taken, it is understood.
It comes as Sir Keir Starmer faces questions over his party’s “shambolic” U-turn on withdrawing support for Mr Ali, who was initially backed by the party for his swift apology and retraction of claims that Israel had allowed the 7 October Hamas attack as a pretext to invade Gaza.
But in a dramatic climbdown on Monday night, the party said its support for him had been withdrawn following “new information about further comments”, and he was suspended from the party pending an investigation.
The Guido Fawkes website then published another recording in which Hyndburn candidate Graham Jones referred to “f***ing Israel” and said Britons who fight for the Israel Defence Forces should be locked up”. He was swiftly suspended pending investigation.
