UK Labour Party withdraws support for candidate after Israel conspiracy comments
- Labour dropped Rochdale candidate Azhar Ali after he suggested Israel had relaxed security in run-up to Hamas attack to provide grounds to invade Gaza
- Ali apologised for the comments on Sunday, which he said were ‘ignorant and false’. The Rochdale by-election will take place on February 29
Britain’s opposition Labour party has withdrawn support for its candidate to become a member of parliament in a special election after he was recorded espousing conspiracy theories about Israel.
Labour announced it had withdrawn support for Azhar Ali, its by-election candidate for Rochdale in northern England, after he suggested Israel had relaxed its security in run up to the attack by Hamas last year to provide grounds to invade Gaza.
A spokesperson for Labour said the party had withdrawn support for Ali and it will not be able to find another candidate because the deadline has passed to replace him.
“We understand that these are highly unusual circumstances but it is vital that any candidate put forward by Labour fully represents its aims and values,” the spokesperson said.
Ali said the United States had warned Israel a day before that an attack was planned by Hamas and they “deliberately took the security off” so they would have the opportunity to “do whatever they bloody want”, according to a recording reported in the Mail on Sunday newspaper.
Israel launched its offensive on Gaza after Hamas militants stormed the country on October 7, killing 1,200 people, and taking about 250 hostage, according to Israeli officials.
