Shropshire Star

Corbyn: Ex-Shrewsbury mayor could be expelled over anti-Semitism

Jeremy Corbyn said former Mayor of Shrewsbury Councillor Ioan Jones could be expelled from the Labour Party if allegations of anti-Semitism were proven to be correct.

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Former mayor Ioan Jones is a Labour councillor for Harlescott

At the moment he is being investigated by the party over claims that he shared anti-Semitic comments on Facebook.

Councillor Jones, who represents Harlescott on Shropshire Council, is alleged to have posted material comparing Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Adolf Hitler.

Mr Corbyn said: “If that is completely right, that doesn’t fit in with the code of conduct or the code of behaviour of the Labour Party.

“It will be investigated, and appropriate action will be taken.”

Jeremy Corbyn was speaking at Harper Adams University

When asked if there was a possibility that Councillor Jones could be expelled from the party, Mr Corbyn replied: “The sanctions available include that.”

During his visit to Harper Adams University yesterday, Mr Corbyn admitted he had laid a wreath in memory of Palestinians suspected of being behind the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre. Eleven Israeli athletes were killed in the attack.

But he said the wreath was in memory of all those killed during an Israeli air-strike in 1985. He said the bombing was condemned at the time by the United Nations, US president Ronald Reagan and then prime minister Margaret Thatcher.

On Monday Mr Corbyn said that while he was present at the event at the Palestinian Martyrs Cemetery in Tunisia in 2014, he did not 'think' he was involved in the wreath-laying.

His comments came as Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt ratcheted up the pressure on Mr Corbyn in the anti-Semitism row, warning he would have no moral authority to condemn terrorist attacks on British citizens if he ever became prime minister.

Mr Corbyn said that he condemned all terrorism, and said that peace could only come through dialogue.

However, writing on Twitter, Mr Hunt said: “If Jeremy Corbyn thinks terrorism is justified for the causes he believes in, how would he as prime minister have the moral authority to condemn terrorist murders of British citizens? Unbelievable and shocking.”