Labour has banned a prospective council candidate from
standing for the party after an outcry over antisemitic comments she posted on
social media.
Nasreen Khan, a former member of George Galloway’s Respect
party, had been shortlisted for a safe Labour council seat in Bradford. But her
candidacy received widespread condemnation after posts, written in 2012, came
to light in which she claimed there were “worse people in Hitler in this
world”, that “Jews have reaped the rewards of playing victims” and asking:
“What have the Jews done good in this world”.
Ms Khan apologised apologised for the comments, saying in a
statement: “I accept fully that it was inappropriate and unacceptable”.
On Wednesday night, a spokesperson for the Labour Party
announced that “following an investigation, Nasreen Khan has been removed
from Labour’s panel of approved candidates in Bradford. Labour condemns all
antisemitism in the strongest possible terms.”
Although the decision was welcomed by Labour Against
Antisemitism, the group warned that there had been “a number of fundamental
failures that leave urgent questions that must be answered by the regional and
national party leaderships”.
Earlier Susan Hinchcliffe, the leader of the Labour-led
council, said that no one who had seen Ms Khan’s posts “can fail to be appalled
by them… such comments have no place in our society”.
