A group of Jeremy Corbyn’s most vocal supporters have today dismissed the Labour anti-Semitism crisis as ‘bogus’ – saying there is a ‘distinct lack of any evidence’.
The group, which includes activists Jackie Walker and Tony Greenstein, said Mr Corbyn has ‘nothing to apologise for’.
The far-left activists dismissed warnings that Labour poses an ‘existential threat’ to Jews and urged the Labour leader to ignore the controversy.
But as his supporters risked fanning the flames of controversy in the letter to The Guardian, Mr Corbyn was pictured soaking up the sun at a seaside cafe on holiday.
The letter states: ‘One of the most noticeable things about these repeated claims of Labour party antisemitism is a distinct lack of any evidence.’
It adds: ‘Jeremy Corbyn has nothing to apologise for and he should concentrate on the real task, winning a majority at the next election, and not be diverted by these bogus claims of anti-Semitism.’
Meanwhile, members of Mr Corbyn’s local Labour branch in Islington joined a protest accusing the BBC of bias reporting against him on the anti-Semitism scandal.
It comes as Dame Margaret Hodge – a Jewish Labour MP who lost family in the Holocaust – warned that Mr Corbyn’s allies are using the anti-Semitism row to bully moderates and try to purge them from the party.
Meanwhile, the sheer scale of the anti-Semitism crisis facing the Labour Party has today been laid bare.
Jeremy Corbyn was pictured soaking up the sun at a seaside cafe on holiday as his supporters risked fanning the flames of the anti-Semitism controversy by making their intervention in The Guardian

Elleanne Green (pictured centre) is being investigated by party bosses after the controversial Palestine Live group was found to have hosted anti-Jewish conspiracy theories
Leaked details of disciplinary cases against Labour members found that some have tried to blame Israel for inventing the scandal.
While an ally of Mr Corbyn behind a Facebook group which hosted anti-Semitic slurs has reportedly said it is a ‘badge of honour’ to be investigated by the party.
Elleanne Green is being investigated by party bosses after the controversial Palestine Live group was found to have hosted anti-Jewish conspiracy theories.
Mr Corbyn was a member of the group – where members posted links to Holocaust denial myths – until 2015, but insists he did not see any offensive comments.
A leaked cache of documents, published in The Guardian today, show that Ms Green made the ‘deeply troubling’ comment saying the probe could be seen as a ‘badge of honour’.
The revelation comes as the Labour leader faces continued fury from his own MPs and the Jewish community for failing to get a grip on the crisis tearing Labour apart.
International Holocaust experts last night warned that Labour is undermining efforts to stamp out anti-Semitism in by refusing to adopt the globally agreed definition of the abuse.
In the leaked papers, Ms Green wrote to investigating officers to say she hoped she would eventually see the disciplinary action by the party as a ‘much vaunted ‘badge of honour’ one day … I do hope so’.
The paperwork, sent to members of the Labour’s ruling national executive committee, says party officers found that response ‘particularly troubling’.
And they warned that Ms Green showed a ‘lack of interest in responding to these allegations’.
Ms Green has been referred for potential expulsion to the national constitutional committee (NCC), the party’s highest disciplinary body.
The secret papers also included details of two other Labour party members facing disciplinary action over the anti-Semitism crisis.
One Labour party member allegedly said the scandal has been invented by the Israeli lobby.
Another member suggested that Hitler’s policy on Zionism ‘might not be mutually exclusive with his later actions’.
Another shared posts suggesting terror group Islamic State had used weapons manufactured in Israel.
And another member alleged to have posted on Twitter that the Commons Speaker, John Bercow, had ‘Zionist sympathies’ .
In a statement, Ms Green told the newspaper: ‘Everything I have ever said is consistent with the following avowal: I believe in equal human rights for all human beings and I wish no harm to anyone of any race or religion, all Palestinians and all Jews included, with no exceptions.
‘I have never for one second wished any harm to any human soul.’
Labour has been dogged by claims of anti-Semitism ever since Mr Corbyn was elected leader in 2015.
The Labour leader has been accused by his own MPs of purposely turning a blind eye to the racism and letting it fester and go unchallenged.
Jewish MPs have told how they have been hit by a wave of anti-Semitic abuse and death and rape threats for daring to speak out over the scandal.
And he faced a fresh wave of anger after his office launched investigations into Labour MPs Dame Margaret Hodge and Ian Austin – who both lost family in the Holocaust – after they furiously criticised Mr Corbyn’s failure to tackle the problem.
Dame Margaret has had her investigation dropped – but today launched a furious attack on Mr Corbyn’s allies accusing them of trying to purge the party of his critics.
Despite the onslaught of criticism, Mr Corbyn has insisted he is trying to get on top of the scandal and released a video at the weekend admitting the party has a problem.
But Jewish leaders have said his efforts fall far short of what is needed
A Labour source said: ‘When cases are brought to our attention we are acting quickly and decisively, investigating all complaints and taking appropriate disciplinary action.’
In a fresh development to the anti-Semitism scandal, international holocaust experts have accused the Labour party of undermining efforts to stamp out anti-Semitism.
The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance last night said the party’s high controversial decision to refuse to fully adopt is definition of anti-Semitism was hampering efforts.
In their first intervention since the row erupted last month about Labour’s refusal to take up the definition last month, they criticised Labour for excluding some of the specific examples of the racism.
They stressed the importance of a global definition of anti-semitism to any effort to tackle it.
And they said that by picking and choosing what bits o the definition to use, the party is hampering efforts to actually tackle the abuse.
They add: ‘Any ‘modified’ version of the IHRA definition that does not include all of its 11 examples is no longer the IHRA definition.
‘Adding or removing language undermines the months of international diplomacy and academic rigour that enabled this definition to exist.
‘If one organisation or institution can amend the wording to suit its own needs, then logically anyone else could do the same.
‘We would once again revert to a world where antisemitism goes unaddressed simply because different entities cannot agree on what it is.’

Jeremy Corbyn (pictured outside his home) has been dogged by accusations that he has failed to tackle anti-Semitism crisis which has taken root among Labour members