Naz Shah’s suspension lifted by Labour Party

Bradford West MP was stripped of the parliamentary whip and barred from party activity pending investigation

5 July 2016, 6:25 pm

Naz Shah

Labour has lifted the suspension of MP Naz Shah over online posts which were allegedly anti-Semitic and she is now back in the party, it is understood.

The Bradford West MP was stripped of the parliamentary whip in April and barred from party activity pending an investigation of her behaviour – which David Cameron at the time branded racist.

Ms Shah also quit her role as a Parliamentary assistant to shadow chancellor John McDonnell and told MPs she deeply regretted the hurt caused by the posts and wanted to work with Jewish groups to bolster understanding.

In a 2014 Facebook post, she shared a graphic of Israel’s outline superimposed onto a map of the US under the headline ”Solution for Israel-Palestine Conflict – Relocate Israel into United States”, with the comment: ”Problem solved”.

The Guido Fawkes website – which published the post – also pointed to another made before Ms Shah was an MP, which used the hashtag #IsraelApartheid above a quote saying ”Never forget that everything Hitler did in Germany was legal”.

Ms Shah told the Commons at the time: ”Anti-Semitism is racism, full stop. As an MP I will do everything in my power to build relations between Muslims, Jews and people of different faiths and none.”

The Board of Deputies of British Jews welcomed the lifting of the suspension. A spokesperson said: “Of all those suspended by the Labour Party for anti-Semitic actions, Naz Shah stands out as someone who has been prepared to apologise to the Jewish community at a local and national level, and make efforts to learn from her mistakes. In that regard, her reinstatement today seems appropriate and we would hope for no repeat of past errors.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has faced criticism for his handling of anti-Semitism rows that have engulfed the party in recent months.

On Monday appearing before the Commons Home Affairs Committee, he condemned Ken Livingstone’s controversial claims that Adolf Hitler initially backed Zionism, which the former London mayor made amid the row over Ms Shah’s comments.

Mr Corbyn told the committee he was “alarmed” at reports of anti-Semitic comments made by Labour members since his election as leader in 2015.

He said that “appropriate action” had been taken by the party’s compliance unit and fewer than 20 activists had been suspended while their cases were investigated.