Rebecca Long-Bailey has been sacked from the shadow cabinet after she shared an article containing an antisemitic conspiracy theory.
In a dramatic move, Sir Keir Starmer asked his former leadership rival to step down as shadow education secretary for retweeting an interview with Maxine Peake, in which the actress claimed US police responsible for the death of George Floyd had learned their tactics from seminars with Israeli forces.
The Labour frontbencher shared The Independent article, describing the 45-year-old actress, who was a vocal supporter of Jeremy Corbyn during his leadership of the Labour Party, as an “absolute diamond”.
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Ms Long-Bailey later distanced herself from the comments, saying her retweet was “not intended to be an endorsement of all aspects” of the article.
A spokesperson for Keir Starmer said: “This afternoon Keir Starmer asked Rebecca Long-Bailey to step down from the shadow cabinet.
“The article Rebecca shared earlier today contained an antisemitic conspiracy theory.
“As leader of the Labour Party, Keir has been clear that restoring trust with the Jewish community is a number one priority. Antisemitism takes many different forms and it is important that we all are vigilant against it.”
During the interview, Ms Peake said that “systemic racism is a global issue”, and added: “The tactics used by the police in America, kneeling on George Floyd’s necks, that was learnt from seminars with Israeli secret services”.
While US law enforcement officials have received training from the Israeli military, there has been no suggestion that this training involved the tactics of kneeling on an individuals neck.
Ms Long-Bailey said she had agreed with Sir Keir’s office to clarify her decision to share the article but she was then ordered to take both tweets down.
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She said: “I could not do this in good conscience without the issuing of a press statement of clarification. I had asked to discuss these matters with Keir before agreeing what further action to take, but sadly he had already made his decision.”
Ms Long-Bailey said she never intended to “endorse every part of that article”, instead she meant to show support for Ms Peake’s criticism of the Tory government’s handling of coronavirus.
Ms Long-Bailey’s remarks, however, drew anger from the Board of Deputies of British Jews, who said they were concerned to see a Labour frontbencher “praising the words of someone repeating the conspiracy theory that Israel was responsible for the death of George Floyd.”
Marie van der Zyl, the president of the organisation, said they had requested Ms Long-Bailey delete the original post and issue an apology.
“Rebecca Long-Bailey’s response is frankly pathetic,” she said. “As someone who aspires to be the next education secretary, we expect her to read and understand materials before sharing them. If she is incapable of doing this, it raises serious and immediate questions about her suitability for the role.”
Chair of the Jewish Leadership Council, Jonathan Goldstein added: “So sad. No lessons learned. Read the article and see if that would be your conclusion. Rebecca Long-Bailey should apologise.”
After the Labour frontbencher’s clarification, he went on: “To be clear. Deleting the text at this point is not enough. A clear and unconditional apology should be offered.”
Sir Keir’s decisive action underlines his desire to stamp out the row over antisemitism which dogged the party under Mr Corbyn’s leadership.
Ms Long-Bailey was seen by many as Mr Corbyn’s heir apparent, but she lost out to Sir Keir in the leadership election in April.
The move is likely to reignite divisions within the party, with former shadow chancellor John McDonnell tweeting his support for Ms Long-Bailey.
He said: “Throughout discussion of antisemitism it’s always been said criticism of practices of Israeli state is not anti-Semitic.
“I don’t believe therefore that this article is or Rebecca Long-Bailey should’ve been sacked. I stand in solidarity with her.”
