Pro-Palestine MP faces claims supporters branded opponent a 'Zionist and genocide agent'

An MP elected into parliament on a pro-Palestine ticket faces claims that his supporters repeatedly harassed a Labour candidate during the election campaign with taunts that she was a “Zionist and genocide agent”.

Iqbal Mohamed was elected as new MP in the Dewsbury and Batley constituency on July 4, having at one stage during the campaign given a speech in which he called for voters to boycott all brands, including children’s sweets, that he said were linked to “Israel and Zionism.”

Standing against the independent candidate at the election for Labour was Heather Iqbal, who reported some of the intimidation she faced to police, and also posted on X days ahead of the election about the behaviour she was forced to put up with.

At the weekend in interviews with the Guardian and the BBC, she went public about the intimidation she had faced throughout the campaign, and called on the new MP to disassociate himself from the actions of those who supported him.

Last week new MP Mohmmed was filmed at a Palestinian Solidarity Campaign (PSC) demo outside parliament, where he linked arms with other attendees, including Labour MPs John McDonnell and Dawn Butler, who were nearby to him.

Dawn Butler MP, John McDonnell MP and Iqbal Mohamed MP on PSC demo

But Labour’s Iqbal told the BBC: “It was relentless. There were a lot of horrible things circulating about my background, family and name.

“I could not go anywhere by myself during the campaign as I felt like I was being followed. When I went to small community meetings, pictures would emerge of me on social media later in the day entering and leaving venues. It left me feeling uncomfortable.”

She told the Guardian: “As well as the van with a megaphone shouting that I was a Zionist and genocide agent, we had activists being chased down the street, malicious online content about my white husband and my first name.

“There didn’t seem to be many boundaries when it came to being a supporter of his campaign.”

She added that even after the election was over, Labour supporters in the region had been labelled “traitors and hypocrites” by backers of Mohamed, while efforts have been made to stop them holding positions in mosques or charities.

“What Iqbal Mohamed does next about this will tell us everything we need to know about the MP he will be,” Iqbal told the Guardian. “Denial and distancing simply won’t do, especially since there is a mountain of evidence of abuse from some of the campaign team he’s tagged in his Facebook posts.

“We have the receipts – the abusive videos, the voice notes, the lengthy WhatsApp posts. It is time to acknowledge what his campaign team put Labour activists through, and apologise.”

Mohamed secured 15,641 votes in the UK general election, winning with 41.1 percent of the total vote share, whilst Labour’s Iqbal received 8,707 votes.

A spokesperson for Mohamed said the van with the megaphone was not following Iqbal or her team, but that “their paths crossed when the unfortunate incident took place”.

They added: “Our campaign was made aware of an isolated incident that took place a few days before polling, involving a verbal altercation. The police were called to investigate, and we believe no further action took place.

“We firmly reject any suggestions that our campaign used negative tactics during the election. We also wish to make clear that any such behaviour, whether by purported supporters or those of the opposition, is not condoned.”

Mohamed salso told the BBC: “Violence, threats, intimidation and abuse are not acceptable in an election campaign in Parliament or in society in general. Whoever engages in that is nothing to do with me and nothing to do with my campaign. I would condemn such behaviour by anyone.”

West Yorkshire Police said that while some incidents of “unpleasant language” on the campaign trail had been reported, they did not meet thresholds for criminal prosecutions.

Footage of a speech given by the new MP during the campaign confirms he urges supporters to “go home and find every brand and every product that has been supporting Israel and Zionism from the beginning of time and throw it away… Put the list on your fridge. Tell your children when you go to the shop to buy sweets ‘do not buy this’ and ‘do not buy that’. That is the least we can do.”

Meanwhile, another newly elected pro-Palestine MP Shockat Adam faces further claims about his conduct.

Two close associates of the new independent MP for Leicester South followed, filmed and confronted his Labour opponent Jon Ashworth before polling day, new footage appeared to show.

Adam dismissed criticism of those who confronted Ashworth during the race, describing them as ordinary voters entitled to express their anger.

Asked about claims two individuals who filmed and followed Ashworth were actually part of his campaign, a spokeswoman for Adam said: “Shockat would never condone bullying or harassment. But a bit of questioning in the street is not unusual in a democracy, and if Shockat ever lost touch with his voters as Jonathan did, he would expect to be held similarly accountable.”