Yahoo News Labour MP reveals wife was sent dead bird and threatened with rape after he spoke out against anti-Semitism
The wife of a Labour MP was sent a dead bird through the post and threatened with rape after he spoke out against anti-Semitism.
John Mann told a silent House of Commons about how his wife and children were all sent vile abuse as a result of his fight against racism directed at Jewish people.
Mr Mann said he had been targeted by the Jeremy Corbyn-supporting campaign group Momentum for showing solidarity with Jewish Labour members – with his wife ‘threatened with rape’ by a ‘leftist anti-Semite’.
He attacked those on the left claiming that anti-Semitism was simply a way of attacking Mr Corbyn.
He said: ‘Those who say it is a smear raising this issue need to publicly apologise and publicly understand what they are doing.’
The Labour MP for Bassetlaw, who chairs the all party group on anti-Semitism, was speaking out during an often emotional and tense debate about anti-Semitism, that saw several Jewish MPs detail their personal stories of abuse.
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Luciana Berger said Labour must expel those with anti-Semitic views and criticised people who attacked her for speaking out on the issue but also claim to be both party members and online supporters of the #JC4PM campaign, which backs Jeremy Corbyn becoming prime minister.
She said: ‘One anti-Semitic member of the Labour Party is one member too many.
‘And yes, as I’ve said outside this place in Parliament Square, and it pains me to say this proudly as the chair of the Jewish Labour Movement, in 2018 within the Labour Party anti-Semitism is more commonplace, is more conspicuous and is more corrosive.
‘That’s why I have no words for the people who purport to be both members and supporters of our party, who use that hashtag JC4PM, who attacked me in recent weeks for my comments, they attacked me for speaking at the rally against anti-Semitism, they’ve questioned my comments where I questioned comments endorsing that anti-Semitic mural, who say I should be deselected or called it a smear.’
A standing ovation – in defiance of parliamentary convention – followed Ruth Smeeth’s speech, in which the Labour MP for Stoke-on-Trent North read a sample of the abuse aimed at her and insisted: ‘Enough really is enough.’
Labour former minister Dame Margaret Hodge was applauded after a speech in which she said it felt as if her party has ‘given permission for anti-Semitism to go unchallenged’, adding: ‘Anti-Semitism is making me an outsider in my Labour Party. To that, I simply say enough is enough.’
The debate proved to be awkward for Mr Corbyn, who faced criticism from both Tory and Labour MPs for not doing enough to combat the issue within his own party.
He faced criticism for leaving the debate before several emotional speeches from his own MPs but later returned to listen – but did not speak himself.
Communities Secretary Sajid Javid accusing the Labour leader of a ‘deeply worrying lack of leadership and moral clarity’ on anti-Semitism.
Ms Berger and other MPs backed calls to expel Ken Livingstone from the Labour Party, with former minister Ian Austin saying the ex-London mayor had been ‘comparing, claiming that Hitler was a Zionist’ – labelling this as anti-Semitism ‘pure and simple’.
She was also was applauded by MPs from all sides after she detailed the anti-Semitic abuse she has faced, which she said began when she was aged 19 and described her as a ‘dirty Zionist pig’.
Shadow communities secretary Andrew Gwynne said ‘much more work needs to be done’ on anti-Semitism, adding: ‘No political party has the monopoly on vice or virtue but we will put our house in order.’
Shadow home secretary Diane Abbott later said ‘one anti-Semite in the Labour Party is one too many’, also saying ‘nothing is gained’ by accusing Mr Corbyn of being an anti-Semite.
She said the party was ‘serious’ about fighting racism and anti-Semitism although acknowledged it had been ‘too slow’ in dealing with some complaints – with measures being taken to address it.
However, Ms Abbott was quickly attacked by backbench Labour MPs including West Streeting, who sad that the Jewish community would be ‘horrified by the response from our front bench to this debate today’.
