UK Labor Party leader Keir Starmer fired a shadow cabinet member and a former rival of left-wing leadership after she approved an article containing what Starmer called “anti-Semitic conspiracy theories” .
“Sharing that article was incorrect because that article contained anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, therefore I have removed Rebecca Long-Bailey from the hidden cabinet,” Starmer told the BBC.
KEIR STARMER ELECTED LEADER OF THE GREAT BRITAIN JOB PARTY IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CORONAVIRUS CRISIS
The shadow cabinet is used to refer to the main group of opposition parliamentarians who assume policy areas that correspond to the government cabinet. Long-Bailey had been serving as the shadow education secretary. She will remain as a member of Parliament.
In this photo from the brochure provided by the UK Parliament, British Labor leader Keir Starmer speaks during the Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons, London, on Wednesday 24 June 2020. (Jessica Taylor / Kingdom Parliament Joined via AP)
“I have made it my first priority to address anti-Semitism and rebuilding trust with the Jewish community is a number one priority for me,” Starmer said.
Long-Bailey’s dismissal was due to a separate article she shared on Twitter with an interview with actress Maxine Peake, who was interviewed on everything from the handling of the coronavirus by the British Conservative Party government to the recent death of George Floyd. in police custody in the United States.
JEREMY CORBYN SAYS HE IS “VERY FORGIVEN” ABOUT THE LABOR PARTY’S ANTI-SEMITISM CLAIMS
At one point, Peake says “tactics used by the police in the United States, kneeling on George Floyd’s neck, learned from seminars with the Israeli secret services.” The article notes that the Israeli police deny such an unfounded claim.
Long-Bailey shared the article, saying that Peake was “an absolute diamond”.
His dismissal also comes when Starmer has vowed to eradicate anti-Semitism that allowed himself to infiltrate the party under the leadership of his far-left predecessor Jeremy Corbyn.
Corbyn stepped down as leader earlier this year after a brutal electoral defeat in December at the hands of conservatives. Long-Bailey, who was seen as the candidate who would keep the party firmly on the left, defended the leadership against the more centrist Starmer, who ultimately won.
FILE – In this Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2019, file photo, Rebecca Long-Bailey, the British secretary for Shadow Business, speaks onstage during the Labor Party Conference at the Brighton Center in Brighton, England. (AP Photo / Kirsty Wigglesworth, file)
Long-Bailey, in a long statement on Twitter, said his retweet was not “an intention to endorse every part of that article.”
“I wished to acknowledge these concerns and duly issued a clarification of my retweet, with the wording agreed in advance by the Office of the Labor Party Leader, but after publication, I was subsequently instructed to take both this agreed clarification and my original retweet” . said.
“I could not do this in good conscience without issuing a clarifying press release. I had asked to discuss these matters with Keir before agreeing on what action to take, but unfortunately he had already made his decision, ”he said.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
The British Jewish Board of Deputies praised Starmer’s decision and said Long-Bailey’s position was “unsustainable.”
“There can be no room for this kind of action in any party and it is right that after so many challenging years Labor now clarify it under its new leader,” President Marie van der Zyl said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the left-wing group Momentum, which helped sweep Corbyn into leadership in 2015, accused Starmer of exaggerating.
“[Starmer] He says he wants unity in the game, then fires the most prominent left winger on the front bench for no good reason. It is a reckless overreaction, ”the group said.
