Ed Miliband has denied a purge is taking place against the Labour left under Keir Starmer’s leadership.
The shadow business secretary was speaking days after Starmer sacked left-wing darling Rebecca Long-Bailey from his shadow cabinet to howls of protest from Corbynite MPs.
Miliband rejected suggestions that Long-Bailey’s dismissal was an “overreaction”.
Download the new Independent Premium app Sharing the full story, not just the headlines
Download now
Starmer took “the right decision” to remove the former leadership contender after she made a “significant error of judgement” in retweeting an interview in The Independent with actor Maxine Peake containing an antisemitic conspiracy theory, he insisted.
Ms Long-Bailey’s removal as shadow education secretary and replacement with the former chair of Owen Smith’s 2016 campaign to oust Jeremy Corbyn has been seen in some quarters as the start of a move by Starmer to drive the left out of positions of influence in the party.
left Created with Sketch. right Created with Sketch.
1/50 27 June 2020A protest for Justice for Shukri Abdi on Trafalgar Square in London, following a raft of Black Lives Matter protests across the UK
PA
2/50 26 June 2020Police at the scene of an incident at the Park Inn Hotel in central Glasgow. Scottish police said armed officers shot dead a man after a suspected stabbing in the city centre left six others injured, including one of their colleagues. Several roads were closed and the surrounding area was cordoned off
AFP via Getty
3/50 25 June 2020A horse is washed down at Haydock Racecourse
PA
4/50 24 June 2020People enjoy the hot weather on Margate beach
Reuters
5/50 23 June 2020Tony Bennett the owner of The Devereux pub in Temple, London. Pub and hospitality bosses have cheered the Government’s proposals to allow customers through their doors again on July 4 as “a welcome relief”. PA Photo. Picture date: Tuesday June 23, 2020. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Tuesday that pubs, restaurants and cinemas will be able to reopen from July 4, with “one metre-plus” distancing measures in place
PA
6/50 22 June 2020Police forensics officers carry out a search near Forbury Gardens, in Reading town centre, the scene of a multiple stabbing attack which took place at around 7pm on Saturday, leaving three people dead and another three seriously injured
PA
7/50 21 June 2020Soccer Football – Premier League – Everton v Liverpool – Goodison Park, Liverpool, Britain – June 21, 2020 Children play football outside the stadium before the match, as play resumes behind closed doors following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19)
Action Images via Reuters
8/50 20 June 2020Arsenal’s midfielder Nicolas Pepe kneels before the Premier League match against Brighton and Hove Albion at the American Express Community Stadium in southern England
AFP via Getty
9/50 19 June 2020Bianca Walkden during a training session at the National Taekwondo Centre in Manchester
PA
10/50 18 June 2020French President Emmanuel Macron gestures about social distancing alongside Prime Minister Boris Johnson as he arrives at Downing Street for a meeting. Macron also visited London to commemorate the 80th anniversary of former French president Charles de Gaulle’s appeal to French people to resist the Nazi occupation during World War II
AFP/Getty
11/50 17 June 2020Players kneel, as well as, having ‘Black Lives Matter’ in place of names on their shirts prior to the start of the Premier League match between Aston Villa and Sheffield United at Villa Park in Birmingham. The league resumed after its three-month suspension because of coronavirus
AP
12/50 16 June 2020Motakhayyel ridden by Jim Crowley, right, wins the Buckingham Palace Handicap during day one of Royal Ascot. This year, the flat racing’s biggest meeting, is behind closed doors due to the coronavirus outbreak
PA
13/50 15 June 2020Queues form at Primark at the Rushden Lakes shopping complex after the government relaxed coronavirus lockdown laws significantly, allowing zoos, safari parks and non-essential shops to open to visitors
Getty
14/50 14 June 2020A man kneels at a commemoration to mark the third anniversary of the Grenfell Tower fire in London. The fire claimed 72 lives on 14 June 2017
PA
15/50 13 June 2020Protesters confront police in Whitehall near Parliament Square, during a protest by the Democratic Football Lads Alliance
PA
16/50 12 June 2020A Black Lives Matter supporter sings to crowds who marched with her in front of the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square in London. The death of an African American man, George Floyd, while in the custody of Minneapolis police has sparked protests across the United States, as well as demonstrations of solidarity in many countries around the world
Getty
17/50 11 June 2020Scouts show their support at the Lord Baden-Powell statue in Poole. The statue of Robert Baden-Powell on Poole Quay is to be placed in “safe storage” following concerns about his racial views
Getty
18/50 10 June 2020Social distancing markers around the penguin enclosure at London Zoo. Staff have been preparing and are now ready for reopening next week with new signage, one-way trails for visitors to follow, and extra handwashing and sanitiser stations in place
PA
19/50 9 June 2020Protestors hold placards and shout slogans during during a protest called by the Rhodes Must Fall campaign calling for the removal of the statue of British imperialist Cecil John Rhodes outside Oriel College, at the University of Oxford
AFP via Getty
20/50 8 June 2020Hermione Wilson helps to install a new artwork at Jupiter Artland, Edinburgh, created as a tribute to the NHS titled “A Thousand Thank Yous” originally devised by the late Allan Kaprow which consists of colourful painted messages on cardboard and has been directed remotely by London-based artist Peter Liversidge
PA
21/50 7 June 2020The Edward Colston statue has been pulled down by Black Lives Matter protesters in Bristol. Colston was a 17th century slave trader who has numerous landmarks named after him in Bristol
SWNS
22/50 6 June 2020Children pose for their family in front of discarded placards fixed on a wall in Piccadilly Gardens after a Black Lives Matter demonstrations in Manchester. The death of an African-American man, George Floyd, while in the custody of Minneapolis police has sparked protests across the United States, as well as demonstrations of solidarity in many countries around the world
Getty
23/50 5 June 2020Protesters kneel in Trafalgar Square during a Black Lives Matter demonstration in London, England. The death of an African-American man, George Floyd, while in the custody of Minneapolis police has sparked protests across the United States, as well as demonstrations of solidarity in many countries around the world
Getty
24/50 4 June 2020Protestors march from Windsor Castle in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement
Getty
25/50 3 June 2020People wearing face masks hold banners in Hyde Park during a Black Lives Matter protest following the death of George Floyd who died in police custody in Minneapolis
Reuters
26/50 2 June 2020Street artist Nath Murdoch touches up his anti-racism mural in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire
PA
27/50 1 June 2020Customers socially distance themselves as they queue to enter Ikea in Warrington. The store opening saw large queues of people and traffic on adjacent roads as it reopened after the lockdown. The furniture and housewares chain reopened its stores across England and Northern Ireland subject to several restrictions, keeping its restaurants closed and asking customers to shop alone
Getty
28/50 31 May 2020A man wearing a protective face mask kneels in front of police officers during a protest against the death in Minneapolis police custody of African-American man George Floyd near the U.S. Embassy, London, Britai
Reuters
29/50 30 May 2020Visitors at Grassholme Reservoir in Lunedale, Co Durham are able to cross an ancient packhorse bridge as work on the dam wall means water levels have dropped signifcantly to reveal this monument of the pas
UK
30/50 29 May 2020British Tennis player Maia Lumsden in action at Bridge of Allan Tennis Club. People can meet family and friends outdoors and play sports such as golf and tennis again as the country is moving into phase one of the Scottish Government’s plan for gradually lifting lockdown
PA
31/50 28 May 2020A police frogman, searches for a weapon in Abington Lake in in Northampton
Getty
32/50 27 May 2020Prime Minister Boris Johnson appears before the Liaison Committee via Zoom from the cabinet room at 10 Downing Street, amid the coronavirus
10 Downing Street/Reuters
33/50 26 May 2020Members of the public relax on the beach at Botany Bay in Margate
Getty
34/50 25 May 2020Dominic Cummings, senior aide to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, makes a statement inside 10 Downing Street, London, over allegations he breached coronavirus lockdown restrictions
AP
35/50 24 May 2020A demonstrator holds a sign reading ‘Why are you above the law?’ outside the house of Dominic Cummings in London, following allegations Cummings broke coronavirus lockdown rules by travelling across the country
Reuters
36/50 23 May 2020People take a walk near Durdle Door as cows graze in Lulworth
Reuters
37/50 22 May 2020Waves break onto a wall at Brighton beach
Reuters
38/50 21 May 2020Cafe owner Francini Osorio serves customers in a trial phase during the coronavirus lockdown. Osorio has installed an air purifier and 35 clear shower curtains, which will divide customers and tables, in the Francini Cafe De Colombia, Worcester, ready for the re-opening of his business as lockdown restrictions are eased
PA
39/50 20 May 2020People at Bournemouth beach in Dorset, as people flock to parks and beaches with lockdown measures eased. The Met Office has predicted the hottest day of the year
PA
40/50 19 May 2020A dog jumps into the water as families relax at a Lido in London
AP
41/50 18 May 2020A fan celebrates outside Celtic Park after Celtic were crowned champions of the Scottish Premiership. Hearts were also relegated after a decision was made to conclude the season with immediate effect
PA
42/50 17 May 2020People on Brighton beach after the introduction of measures to bring the country out of lockdown
PA
43/50 16 May 2020Police lead away Piers Corbyn, brother of former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, as protesters gather in breach of lockdown rules in Hyde Park in London after the introduction of measures to bring the country out of lockdown.
PA
44/50 15 May 2020Estonian freelance ballet dancer and choreographer, Eve Mutso performs her daily fitness routine near her home in Glasgow, Scotland
Getty
45/50 14 May 2020Senior charge nurse Jan Ferguson views artwork “Theatre of Dott’s” by Kate Ive, inspired by Professor Norman Dott and his neurosurgery theatres at the Western General from 1960-2019. It is one of a number of artworks which sit on the walls of NHS Lothians’ Department of Clinical Neurosciences (DCN) which has been transferred into a purpose-built new home on the Little France campus in Edinburgh
PA
46/50 13 May 2020Team GB’s karate athlete Jordan Thomas trains outside his apartment in Manchester
Reuters
47/50 12 May 2020Nurses from central London hospitals protest on international nurses day about the chronic underfunding of the NHS and other issues surrounding the health service outside the gates of Downing Street, London
PA
48/50 11 May 2020Waves crash at Tynemouth pier on the North East coast
PA
49/50 10 May 2020A woman passes street art and a poster in East London
Reuters
50/50 9 May 2020Police patrol the beach in Brighton
Getty
1/50 27 June 2020A protest for Justice for Shukri Abdi on Trafalgar Square in London, following a raft of Black Lives Matter protests across the UK
PA
2/50 26 June 2020Police at the scene of an incident at the Park Inn Hotel in central Glasgow. Scottish police said armed officers shot dead a man after a suspected stabbing in the city centre left six others injured, including one of their colleagues. Several roads were closed and the surrounding area was cordoned off
AFP via Getty
3/50 25 June 2020A horse is washed down at Haydock Racecourse
PA
4/50 24 June 2020People enjoy the hot weather on Margate beach
Reuters
5/50 23 June 2020Tony Bennett the owner of The Devereux pub in Temple, London. Pub and hospitality bosses have cheered the Government’s proposals to allow customers through their doors again on July 4 as “a welcome relief”. PA Photo. Picture date: Tuesday June 23, 2020. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Tuesday that pubs, restaurants and cinemas will be able to reopen from July 4, with “one metre-plus” distancing measures in place
PA
6/50 22 June 2020Police forensics officers carry out a search near Forbury Gardens, in Reading town centre, the scene of a multiple stabbing attack which took place at around 7pm on Saturday, leaving three people dead and another three seriously injured
PA
7/50 21 June 2020Soccer Football – Premier League – Everton v Liverpool – Goodison Park, Liverpool, Britain – June 21, 2020 Children play football outside the stadium before the match, as play resumes behind closed doors following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19)
Action Images via Reuters
8/50 20 June 2020Arsenal’s midfielder Nicolas Pepe kneels before the Premier League match against Brighton and Hove Albion at the American Express Community Stadium in southern England
AFP via Getty
9/50 19 June 2020Bianca Walkden during a training session at the National Taekwondo Centre in Manchester
PA
10/50 18 June 2020French President Emmanuel Macron gestures about social distancing alongside Prime Minister Boris Johnson as he arrives at Downing Street for a meeting. Macron also visited London to commemorate the 80th anniversary of former French president Charles de Gaulle’s appeal to French people to resist the Nazi occupation during World War II
AFP/Getty
11/50 17 June 2020Players kneel, as well as, having ‘Black Lives Matter’ in place of names on their shirts prior to the start of the Premier League match between Aston Villa and Sheffield United at Villa Park in Birmingham. The league resumed after its three-month suspension because of coronavirus
AP
12/50 16 June 2020Motakhayyel ridden by Jim Crowley, right, wins the Buckingham Palace Handicap during day one of Royal Ascot. This year, the flat racing’s biggest meeting, is behind closed doors due to the coronavirus outbreak
PA
13/50 15 June 2020Queues form at Primark at the Rushden Lakes shopping complex after the government relaxed coronavirus lockdown laws significantly, allowing zoos, safari parks and non-essential shops to open to visitors
Getty
14/50 14 June 2020A man kneels at a commemoration to mark the third anniversary of the Grenfell Tower fire in London. The fire claimed 72 lives on 14 June 2017
PA
15/50 13 June 2020Protesters confront police in Whitehall near Parliament Square, during a protest by the Democratic Football Lads Alliance
PA
16/50 12 June 2020A Black Lives Matter supporter sings to crowds who marched with her in front of the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square in London. The death of an African American man, George Floyd, while in the custody of Minneapolis police has sparked protests across the United States, as well as demonstrations of solidarity in many countries around the world
Getty
17/50 11 June 2020Scouts show their support at the Lord Baden-Powell statue in Poole. The statue of Robert Baden-Powell on Poole Quay is to be placed in “safe storage” following concerns about his racial views
Getty
18/50 10 June 2020Social distancing markers around the penguin enclosure at London Zoo. Staff have been preparing and are now ready for reopening next week with new signage, one-way trails for visitors to follow, and extra handwashing and sanitiser stations in place
PA
19/50 9 June 2020Protestors hold placards and shout slogans during during a protest called by the Rhodes Must Fall campaign calling for the removal of the statue of British imperialist Cecil John Rhodes outside Oriel College, at the University of Oxford
AFP via Getty
20/50 8 June 2020Hermione Wilson helps to install a new artwork at Jupiter Artland, Edinburgh, created as a tribute to the NHS titled “A Thousand Thank Yous” originally devised by the late Allan Kaprow which consists of colourful painted messages on cardboard and has been directed remotely by London-based artist Peter Liversidge
PA
21/50 7 June 2020The Edward Colston statue has been pulled down by Black Lives Matter protesters in Bristol. Colston was a 17th century slave trader who has numerous landmarks named after him in Bristol
SWNS
22/50 6 June 2020Children pose for their family in front of discarded placards fixed on a wall in Piccadilly Gardens after a Black Lives Matter demonstrations in Manchester. The death of an African-American man, George Floyd, while in the custody of Minneapolis police has sparked protests across the United States, as well as demonstrations of solidarity in many countries around the world
Getty
23/50 5 June 2020Protesters kneel in Trafalgar Square during a Black Lives Matter demonstration in London, England. The death of an African-American man, George Floyd, while in the custody of Minneapolis police has sparked protests across the United States, as well as demonstrations of solidarity in many countries around the world
Getty
24/50 4 June 2020Protestors march from Windsor Castle in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement
Getty
25/50 3 June 2020People wearing face masks hold banners in Hyde Park during a Black Lives Matter protest following the death of George Floyd who died in police custody in Minneapolis
Reuters
26/50 2 June 2020Street artist Nath Murdoch touches up his anti-racism mural in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire
PA
27/50 1 June 2020Customers socially distance themselves as they queue to enter Ikea in Warrington. The store opening saw large queues of people and traffic on adjacent roads as it reopened after the lockdown. The furniture and housewares chain reopened its stores across England and Northern Ireland subject to several restrictions, keeping its restaurants closed and asking customers to shop alone
Getty
28/50 31 May 2020A man wearing a protective face mask kneels in front of police officers during a protest against the death in Minneapolis police custody of African-American man George Floyd near the U.S. Embassy, London, Britai
Reuters
29/50 30 May 2020Visitors at Grassholme Reservoir in Lunedale, Co Durham are able to cross an ancient packhorse bridge as work on the dam wall means water levels have dropped signifcantly to reveal this monument of the pas
UK
30/50 29 May 2020British Tennis player Maia Lumsden in action at Bridge of Allan Tennis Club. People can meet family and friends outdoors and play sports such as golf and tennis again as the country is moving into phase one of the Scottish Government’s plan for gradually lifting lockdown
PA
31/50 28 May 2020A police frogman, searches for a weapon in Abington Lake in in Northampton
Getty
32/50 27 May 2020Prime Minister Boris Johnson appears before the Liaison Committee via Zoom from the cabinet room at 10 Downing Street, amid the coronavirus
10 Downing Street/Reuters
33/50 26 May 2020Members of the public relax on the beach at Botany Bay in Margate
Getty
34/50 25 May 2020Dominic Cummings, senior aide to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, makes a statement inside 10 Downing Street, London, over allegations he breached coronavirus lockdown restrictions
AP
35/50 24 May 2020A demonstrator holds a sign reading ‘Why are you above the law?’ outside the house of Dominic Cummings in London, following allegations Cummings broke coronavirus lockdown rules by travelling across the country
Reuters
36/50 23 May 2020People take a walk near Durdle Door as cows graze in Lulworth
Reuters
37/50 22 May 2020Waves break onto a wall at Brighton beach
Reuters
38/50 21 May 2020Cafe owner Francini Osorio serves customers in a trial phase during the coronavirus lockdown. Osorio has installed an air purifier and 35 clear shower curtains, which will divide customers and tables, in the Francini Cafe De Colombia, Worcester, ready for the re-opening of his business as lockdown restrictions are eased
PA
39/50 20 May 2020People at Bournemouth beach in Dorset, as people flock to parks and beaches with lockdown measures eased. The Met Office has predicted the hottest day of the year
PA
40/50 19 May 2020A dog jumps into the water as families relax at a Lido in London
AP
41/50 18 May 2020A fan celebrates outside Celtic Park after Celtic were crowned champions of the Scottish Premiership. Hearts were also relegated after a decision was made to conclude the season with immediate effect
PA
42/50 17 May 2020People on Brighton beach after the introduction of measures to bring the country out of lockdown
PA
43/50 16 May 2020Police lead away Piers Corbyn, brother of former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, as protesters gather in breach of lockdown rules in Hyde Park in London after the introduction of measures to bring the country out of lockdown.
PA
44/50 15 May 2020Estonian freelance ballet dancer and choreographer, Eve Mutso performs her daily fitness routine near her home in Glasgow, Scotland
Getty
45/50 14 May 2020Senior charge nurse Jan Ferguson views artwork “Theatre of Dott’s” by Kate Ive, inspired by Professor Norman Dott and his neurosurgery theatres at the Western General from 1960-2019. It is one of a number of artworks which sit on the walls of NHS Lothians’ Department of Clinical Neurosciences (DCN) which has been transferred into a purpose-built new home on the Little France campus in Edinburgh
PA
46/50 13 May 2020Team GB’s karate athlete Jordan Thomas trains outside his apartment in Manchester
Reuters
47/50 12 May 2020Nurses from central London hospitals protest on international nurses day about the chronic underfunding of the NHS and other issues surrounding the health service outside the gates of Downing Street, London
PA
48/50 11 May 2020Waves crash at Tynemouth pier on the North East coast
PA
49/50 10 May 2020A woman passes street art and a poster in East London
Reuters
50/50 9 May 2020Police patrol the beach in Brighton
Getty
Asked if a purge of the left was taking place, Mr Miliband told BBC One’s Andrew Marr Show : “No, of course it isn’t.”
The former party leader told Marr: “I heard something in your paper review about how Keir wants to purge these people. He’s not about purges, I know the guy.
“He’s a principled guy, he’s a guy with integrity, he wants to change this country and he wants to change this country by unifying the Labour Party but also not having the Labour Party mired in issues which, frankly, provide a stain on us.”
Mr Miliband said “nothing” would be done in response to individuals like former shadow chancellor John McDonnell expressing solidarity with Long-Bailey over the issue.
Starmer is not going to “expel everybody in the Labour Party who says this”, he said.
Mr Miliband said Ms Long-Bailey is a “very decent person” but had created a problem by sharing “false criticism” of Israeli defence forces by linking them with the restraint techniques which caused the death of George Floyd.
The shadow business secretary told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show : “The problem is that over the centuries when calamitous things have happened, Jews have been blamed and that’s why there was an anti-Semitism issue in relation to this, and that’s why I believe Keir took the right decision.”
Mr Miliband said he did not think Ms Long-Bailey was antisemitic.
But he said: “The problem about the interview – and I’ve met Maxine Peake, who I think is a perfectly decent person and she’s apologised, and I think that’s significant – was it’s the casualness of it that is in the way the problem.
“A terrible thing happens to George Floyd and the Israeli defence force is somehow singled out. I think Britain has had exchanges with American police forces but Britain wasn’t singled out.”
Shadow work and pensions secretary Jonathan Reynolds said “antisemitic warning lights” should have been “flashing” when Ms Long-Bailey read Ms Peake’s link between the events in the US to Israel.
It was “not something that could be ignored” by Starmer, who was right to sack Long-Bailey, he said.
“We deserve no more chances with the Jewish community to win back trust that has been lost and Keir promised zero tolerance – that has to mean zero tolerance and for that reason, yes, I’m afraid that change had to be made,” said Mr Reynolds.
He told Sky News’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday : “If anyone can’t understand what the problem is with an article like that – and I think it is important to say Maxine Peake has apologised for any reference that was given within that interview – throughout time there has been a strand of antisemitism which has been about blaming Jewish people for all the problems in the world.
“A modern incarnation of that is simply replacing Jews with Israel – that’s in the Labour Party’s own guidance that we send out on antisemitism.
“If someone is looking at the terrible scenes in America and somehow trying to change the blame for that to Israel, the antisemitic warning lights should be flashing to anyone who sees that in print or hears something like that.”
Mr Reynolds said he “gasped” when he saw his shadow cabinet colleague had shared it.
“It caught my breath – I assumed perhaps it hadn’t been read and an apology was forthcoming,” he added.
“I don’t know exactly why it is still up there on Twitter but there’s no doubt it is an antisemitic theory and we promised zero tolerance, and that has to be what we practise and preach.”
Source: UK Politics - www.independent.co.uk