Jeremy Corbyn insists 'I'm not an antisemite in any way'

'Anti-Semitism is a cancer in our society and it has resurfaced across Europe and in Britain in recent years. It has to be challenged at every single stage'

Jeremy Corbyn has insisted he is “not an antisemite in any way” and called prejudice against Jews ”a cancer in our society.”

Senior Jewish leaders have demanded the Labour leader disown supporters who “vilified” antisemitism protesters outside the Houses of Parliament earlier this week.

The Board of Deputies and the Jewish Leadership Council (JLC) said it was a “disgrace” people who joined a demonstration against anti-Semitism in the Labour Party had been subjected to “abuse and insults”.

In a letter, they said Labour members and Labour-supporting blogs driving the abuse were “largely doing so in your name”, undermining Mr Corbyn’s pledge to eliminate antisemitism in the party.

They made it clear they were not prepared to take up his offer to meet until he had addressed the issue.

But in an interview with Jewish News, Mr Corbyn insisted: ”I’m not an anti-Semite in any way, never have been, never will be.

“Let me say this very bluntly: anti-Semitism is a cancer in our society and it has resurfaced across Europe and in Britain in recent years. It has to be challenged at every single stage.”

Insisting he was taking action, he said there had been 300 referrals for antisemitism since 2015 when he became leader, some of which he inherited.

Of those he said 60 were still under investigation, 24 had gone to the National Constitutional Committee, "24, roughly, went to a final warning and 150 were either expelled or resigned."

He added: “That represents 0.02 per cent of the party membership. There are other cases pending.”

Mr Corbyn said he told the party's newly appointed general secretary Jennie Formby "that her first priority has to be the full implementation of the Chakrabarti Report and there has to be an appointment of an in-house lawyer, a legal team, to ensure that there is a proper approach to all of these cases and of the – I understand – 70 cases due to be dealt with. They must be dealt with as quickly as possible.”

Asked about calls for David Lammy to be deselected as an MP because he attended the rally against antisemitism, Mr Corbyn said: “It’s up to the local party, but not for that, no."

He added: “Obviously, the local parties must decide what they want to do in the future. David Lammy is a colleague, a friend of mine, I admire what he stands for and what he does and he should not be condemned for that.”

The latest letter to Mr Corbyn was signed by the president of the Board of Deputies Jonathan Arkush and JLC chairman Jonathan Goldstein, who earlier this week accused him of “again and again” siding with antisemites.

While they acknowledged his apology for the pain caused by antisemitism in the party, they said it was essential that any meeting between them led to “concrete practical outcomes”.

In particular, they said he “urgently” needed to address the abuse heaped on those who sought to raise the issue of antisemitism in the party – including Labour MPs – making clear it was not simply a “smear” against the party or its current leadership.

“Nobody should be vilified for opposing anti-Semitism. Those Labour party members and Labour-supporting blogs pushing the abuse are largely doing so in your name,” they said.

“They need to hear you say, publicly and in your own voice, that we had every right to protest about anti-Semitism, and that Labour MPs had every right to support us; that our concerns about antisemitism are sincere and not a ‘smear’ as has been widely alleged (including on your own Facebook page); and that anyone directing abuse, intimidation or threats at those of us who oppose anti-Semitism is damaging your efforts to eliminate it and to start rebuilding trust.”

In the Commons, Theresa May said there was no place for racial hatred of any kind.

The prime minister told MPs: “There should be a very clear message from all of us in this House that there is no place for racial hatred, for hate crime, in our society – this should not be part of our society.

“Whether it is Islamophobia or anti-Semitism, this is something we should all stand up against and do our best to eradicate from our society.”

Additional reporting by Press Association