British Labour Official Quits Over Backing For Holocaust Denier
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
(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.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
