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Louise Thomas
Editor
Labour MP Clive Lewis is facing calls for his suspension over a tweet appearing to suggest Israel is to blame for the far-right riots that swept the UK last week.
The MP for Norwich South argued that the “inhumanity” shown towards Palestinians in Gaza has led to rising Islamophobia in the UK, causing campaigners to call for his suspension.
Labour Against Antisemitism has accused Mr Lewis of being highly irresponsible and has urged Sir Keir Starmer to expell him from the party. However, it is understood that no disciplinary action will be taken against the MP by party whips.
In remarks posted on X over the weekend, Mr Lewis said: “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.”
The prime minister quickly distanced himself from the remarks, with his spokesperson on Monday saying Sir Keir would “completely disagree” with the suggestion that events in Gaza are to blame for the unrest in Britain, which saw mosques attacked and more than 900 people arrested.
She added that he would “never seek to conflate those two issues”.
Cco-director of Labour Against Antisemitism Alex Hearn told Sky News: “It is very concerning that people across the political spectrum, from ‘anti-racists’ to the far-Right, have fantasised that ‘Zionists’ and Israel are to blame for unrest across Britain.
“A recent report by the Community Security Trust showed anti-Semitism in the last six months has gone up 105 per cent, and that the pretext for these 1,978 incidents are often Palestine. This includes synagogues targeted 76 times and 121 assaults.
“For a Labour MP to blame a conflict thousands of miles away for the recent racism in far-Right riots in Britain is highly irresponsible,” he continued.
“When attacks against British Jews exploded following the Hamas 7 Oct massacre, no such link was made by Mr Lewis.
“Labour Against Antisemitism calls for his immediate suspension and for the whip to be removed while he is investigated.
“We believe that his comments in the context of sectarian violence and record attacks against British Jews warrant expulsion.”
Veteran Labour MP John McDonnell – who is currently sitting as an independent after having the whip suspended following a rebellion over the two-child benefit cap - defended Mr Lewis and denied that they were antisemitic.
Posting to X, he said: “It’s a bizarre warped logic that accuses Clive Lewis of anti-Semitism when he comments on how the visible inhumanity towards Muslims in Gaza displayed daily on our screens feeds into the inhumanity of some in our own country towards Muslims here”.
A Labour spokesman said: “All complaints are treated seriously and thoroughly assessed in line with our rules and procedures.”
Mr Lewis has been contacted for comment.
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