Accused of colluding with the right-wing press

Jun 30th, 2016 | By
Category: Notes and Comment Blog

Also in news from UK / English/Welsh politics today –

A Jewish Labour MP has left Jeremy Corbyn’s launch of an antisemitism report in tears after being accused of colluding with the right-wing press.

I watched the video clip in which she leaves and I didn’t see any tears or signs of tears.

…a man handing out leaflets linked to Momentum, an activist group that supports Mr Corbyn, then verbally attacked Ruth Smeeth.

Witnesses said the campaigner accused the Labour MP for Stoke-on-Trent North and Kidsgrove of “colluding” with the right-wing media, after refusing to hand a leaflet to Ms Smeeth and taking down her name.

Ms Smeeth said she was “verbally attacked” and accused of being part of a media conspiracy.

“It is beyond belief that someone could come to the launch of a report on antisemitism in the Labour Party and espouse such vile conspiracy theories about Jewish people, which were ironically highlighted as such in Ms Chakrabarti’s report, while the leader of my own party stood by and did absolutely nothing,” she added.

“People like this have no place in our party or our movement and must be opposed.”

…

Footage showed the man – Marc Wadsworth –  calling a journalist from the Daily Telegraph a “trouble-maker” after she asked him whether he wanted to apologise.

His press release, claiming to be from Momentum Black Connexions, called for the deselection of Labour “traitors” who are calling for Mr Corbyn to resign in the wake of the EU referendum.

Mr Wadsworth told The Independent he did not know Ms Smeeth was Jewish, adding: “I’ve never been called antisemitic in my life.”

I’m frankly not sure I understand what happened, unless “media conspiracy” is unmistakable code for “Jewish.”

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