Labour MPs brand Jeremy Corbyn's response to antisemitic mural 'wholly inadequate'

Jeremy Corbyn questioned a London council’s decision to destroy an antisemitic mural which depicted a group of Jewish bankers counting money on the backs of ethnic minorities, it has emerged.

A spokesman for the Labour leader was forced to explain on Friday why Mr Corbyn had decided to intervene in a row over an offensive painting widely condemned by Jewish groups and his own MPs.

The graphic, named Freedom of Humanity, was painted onto a property in East London in 2012, but was swiftly removed by the borough of Tower Hamlets following a deluge of complaints.

It showed a group of Jewish financiers and white businessmen sitting in front of the symbol of the Illuminati, a semi-fictitious society commonly associated with myriad conspiracy theories.

The portrait also includes an activist holding a banner, which reads: “The new world order is the enemy of humanity”.

Jennifer Gerber, director of Labour Friends of Israel, said the mural contained "vile antisemitic tropes, from Jewish global control to hooked-noses and demonic conspiracy theories."

But in comments that were exposed by one of his own MPs on Friday, Mr Corbyn was found to have sided with the artist Kalen Ockerman, who had claimed his mural was “public art” and “freedom of expression”.

Wading into the debate, Mr Corbyn wrote to Ockerman on Facebook: “You are in good company, Rockerfeller destroyed Diego Viera’s mural because it includes a picture of Lenin.”

When approached by The Daily Telegraph, a spokesman for Mr Corbyn said: “The mural was offensive, used antisemitic imagery, which has no place in our society, and it is right that it was removed."

However, they stopped short of issuing an apology, claiming Mr Corbyn had made the remarks because he was defending the artist’s right to “freedom of speech”.

Mr Corbyn was openly challenged on Friday by a number of Labour MPs, including Luciana Berger, chair of Jewish Labour, who said the response had been “wholly inadequate”.

“[His response] fails to understand on any level the hurt and anguish felt about antisemitism,” she added. “I will be raising this further.”

Echoing her comments, former deputy leader Harriet Harman said “this sort of thing is insidious and dangerous” while Stella Creasy said freedom of speech “should never be muddled into a conversation about racism”.

Prominent Labour backbencher Yvette Cooper said she was "really troubled" by Mr Corbyn's office's handling of the row.

They were joined by Wes Streeting, Ian Austin, Lisa Nandy and John Woodcock, who said he felt “sick for you and all of us”.

It comes two weeks after Mr Corbyn was forced to admit that he was once a member of a private Facebook group in which members published dozens of anti-Semitic messages and holocaust denial theories.

Despite engaging in the group and commenting in discussions on several occasions, his spokesman said Mr Corbyn would not have been aware of the content being shared.

A spokesman for the Jewish Labour Movement said: "History is littered with imagery that has reaffirmed the worst kinds of racial stereotypes and led to the worst kinds of racial discrimination. 

"It cannot be defended under any circumstances. Not by anyone and least of all the leader of the Labour Party."