TV star Joanna Lumley and author John le Carre are among 24 prominent British figures who’ve declared their refusal to vote for Labour in the UK election on December 12 because of its association with anti-Semitism.
In a letter to The Guardian, the group said Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn had “a long record of embracing anti-Semites as comrades”.
Signatories of the letter also include actor Simon Callow, Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales and author Frederick Forsyth.
They wrote: “The coming election is momentous for every voter, but for British Jews it contains a particular anguish: the prospect of a prime minister steeped in association with anti-Semitism.
“Under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, Labour has come under formal investigation by the Equality and Human Rights Commission for institutional racism against Jews.
“Two Jewish MPs have been bullied out of the party.”
However, the Jewish former House of Commons speaker John Bercow, in an interview with GQ magazine, said he did not believe Jeremy Corbyn was anti-Semitic but that Labour had a “big issue”.
He said that “though there is a big issue, and it has to be addressed, I do not myself believe that Jeremy Corbyn is antisemitic. That is my honest view.
“I’m not saying that he doesn’t have a challenge in his party… I respect those who are very concerned about it, but I don’t believe Jeremy Corbyn is antisemitic.
Read the article in The New Daily (with AAP).