British Labour Official Quits Over Backing For Holocaust Denier
(JTA) — A British Labour Party leader has resigned after she called for the reinstatement of a City Council candidate accused of Holocaust denial.
Christine Shawcroft, the chairwoman of the party’s disputes panel, said in a statement announcing her resignation that she was “wrong and misguided” when she sent an email calling for Peterborough City Council candidate Alan Bull to be reinstated. Bull had been suspended from the party last week. Peterborough, a city of nearly 200,000, is located in eastern England about 75 miles from London.
Bull posted an article on Facebook that called the Holocaust a “hoax” but told the BBC he did not agree with the content. He also has claimed that his alleged anti-Semitic posts are doctored screenshots.
“I sent this email before being aware of the full information about this case and I had not been shown the image of his abhorrent Facebook post,” Shawcroft wrote. “Had I seen this image, I would not have requested that the decision to suspend him be re-considered. I am deeply sorry for having done so.”
Labour Party head Jeremy Corbyn has come under fire this week from the Jewish community, which accused him of “again and again” siding with anti-Semites.
A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.
If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
