Keir Starmer has not “let down” Britain’s Jewish community despite a row over anti-Israel comments made by two Labour candidates, Rachel Reeves has said.
The party leader has faced criticism over his response to the controversy involving Azhar Ali, who was chosen to stand for the party in the upcoming Rochdale by-election.
He was revealed by the Mail on Sunday to have claimed Israel deliberately allowed 1,400 people to be killed on its own soil on October 7 as a pretext for invading Gaza.
In a highly unusual move, Labour withdrew its support for him on Monday night, despite senior party figures initially standing by him.
Meanehile, Graham Jones, Labour’s candidate in nearby in Hyndburn, has also been suspended by the party after audio emerged of him referring to “fucking Israel”.
He also suggested that British people who volunteer to fight with the Israeli Defence Forces should be “locked up”.
The incidents plunged Starmer into one of his worst weeks since he took over from Jeremy Corbyn as leader in April 2020.
Taking questions from journalists on Thursday morning, Reeves defended the party leader.
“When Keir Starmer became leader the number one thing he said he would do would be to change the Labour Party by rooting out anti-Semitism,” the shadow chancellor said.
“I only returned to the shadow cabinet because I was sure of Keir Starmer’s commitment to that.”
She added: “He hasn’t let me down and he hasn’t let the Jewish community down and it is right that both [candidates] have been suspended.”
Reeves said the party would have taken action “much sooner” against Ali and Jones if it had know about the comments earlier.
“We can’t see everything everywhere but when we do see evidence of anti-Semitism we act swiftly.”
It is too late for Ali to be replaced on the ballot in Rochdale, and leaflets sent by Labour urging voters to back him have already been sent to thousands of homes.
The letters, seen by HuffPost UK, describe Azhar Ali as “a strong voice for Rochdale”.
It comes as figures complied by the Jewish Community Security Trust (CST) charity revealed reports of anti-Semitic incidents in the UK reached a record high last year.
The data showed there were 4,103 incidents in 2023, up from 1,662 in 2022. It is almost double the previous record high of 2,255 in 2021.