Labour antisemitism claims are not smears, says McDonnell

John McDonnell last night told an LBC caller that Labour antisemitism claims are not part of a “smear campaign”.

The Shadow Chancellor said: “I’ve seen the threats made against some of our Jewish members and MPs so it isn’t a smear campaign and we have to face up to it.”

He added: “Where there is evidence in our political party, the Labour Party, which we’ve always prided ourselves on being anti-racist, we’ve got to stamp it out.

“When you say ‘it’s a smear campaign’, that belittles what’s happening in terms of us saying there is a problem here and the action we’re taking against it.

“We’ve got to root it out. Having one antisemite in the Labour Party is not good enough.”