Labour MP warned about conduct after sharing post claiming Starmer paid by Israel

Labour MP Clive Lewis has been issued with a formal reminder of conduct after sharing a social media post containing ‘incorrect and unacceptable’ tropes about the Prime Minister and Israel.

The Norwich South MP had shared a post on X written by the notorious anti-Zionist activist Dr Louise Raw which wrongly used a photograph of a Turkish boy suffering from a severe genetic disorder, and accused the PM of being under the control of Israel’s “money and orders.”

Both Lewis and Raw appeared to believe the photo was one of an injured Palestinian child, but a community note on the platform later stated:”The post in the screenshot is unrelated to Israel’s war on Hamas.”

After Jewish News highlighted Lewis’s decision to share the post a Labour spokesperson:”This social media post expresses incorrect and unaccepatable tropes.

“Clive Lewis has deleted the repost and rightly apologised for the offence caused.

“Mr Lewis has been reminded about the high standards of conduct expected by representatives of the Labour Party.”

Jewish News understands he has now been issued with a formal reminder of conduct by the party.

Lewis, a former shadow frontbencher under Jeremy Corbyn, has previously faced complaints about alleged antisemitism, last year sharing a post that claimed there was a link between far-right violence in the UK with Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.

His decision to share claims that the Prime Minister is influenced by money and power from the state of Israel once again raised concerns about the MP in relation to antisemitism claims.

A Jewish Labour Movement spokesperson said: “Does this mean Mr Lewis believes the Prime Minister takes money from another country?

“This is a deeply offensive assertion and completely dull-witted from an MP who has a history of similar comments. It is totally unacceptable to suggest that our Prime Minister is controlled by any outside country, let alone Israel.”

In her post Louise Raw wrote:”Very sorry about the photo but I want to understand how everyone isn’t screaming inside.

“A precious baby still trying to smile and show love.

“How aren’t you in tears every day Keir Starmer? You have kids. How are you still taking Israel’s money and orders? How?”

After a community note clarified that the photo of the boy was not related to the Gaza conflict, it added “Yousef, a young Turkish child, suffers from Harlequin ichthyosis.”

One senior Labour source told Jewish News:”Is it really appropriate for a Labour MP to be sharing antisemitic conspiracy theories about his boss?

“It’s not the first time Clive Lewis has been down this route either.”

Louise Raw has herself repeatedly hit out at what she says are “false” allegations of antisemitism against her, and was temporarily suspended from X after a series of complaints were made against her posts.

In her bio, Raw describes herself an “Activist, Antifascist, historian” and she has been a staunch supporter of Jeremy Corbyn and a regular on pro-Palestine demos.

Lewis has previously been involved in a series of controversies during his parliamentary career. At the 2017 Labour Conference, video footage taken at a fringe event emerged in which the MP told the male actor Sam Swann to “get on your knees, bitch”.

Lewis subsequently tweeted an apology, in which he described his behaviour as “offensive and unacceptable”.

He had previously supported the left-wing activist Marc Wadsworth, who was expelled from Labour in April 2018 for bringing it into disrepute.

Wadsworth had accused Jewish Labour MP Ruth Smeeth of working “hand in hand” with the media at the launch of the Chakrabarti report into antisemitism in the party.

Lewis, who had provided a character reference for Wadsworth opposed the decision to expel him.

In December 2019, he announced that he would run in the 2020 Labour Party leadership election following Corbyn’s resignation.

Despite a petition by members and supporters to get him on the ballot due to his democratisation and electoral reform policies, he received only five of the necessary 22 nominations from Labour MPs.

In September 2022, following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, Lewis wrote an article criticising the monarchy and the “flawed reality of the very limited democracy we inhabit”.