John Le Carre trashes Jeremy Corbyn’s ‘long record of embracing anti-Semites’: Legendary spy turned author joins 24 stars including Joanna Lumley and Dan Snow in attack on Labour leader
- Twenty four public figures will refuse to vote Labour because of anti-Semitism
- Include John le Carre, Joanna Lumley, Frederick Forsyth and Dan Snow
- Say Jeremy Corbyn has ‘a long record of embracing anti-Semites as comrades’
John le Carre and Joanna Lumley are among 24 public figures declaring their refusal to vote for the Labour Party because of its association with anti-Semitism.
In a letter to the Guardian, the group said the path to a more tolerant society “must encompass Britain’s Jews with unwavering solidarity” and said Jeremy Corbyn has “a long record of embracing anti-Semites as comrades”.
Signatories of the letter also include actor Simon Callow, Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales and author Frederick Forsyth.
The group blasted Jeremy Corbyn (pictured in Scotland last night) for anti-semitism
They wrote: “The coming election is momentous for every voter, but for British Jews it contains a particular anguish: the prospect of a prime minister steeped in association with anti-Semitism.
“Under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, Labour has come under formal investigation by the Equality and Human Rights Commission for institutional racism against Jews.
“Two Jewish MPs have been bullied out of the party. Mr Corbyn has a long record of embracing anti-Semites as comrades.
“We listen to our Jewish friends and see how their pain has been relegated as an issue, pushed aside by arguments about Britain’s European future.
“For those who insist that Labour is the only alternative to Boris Johnson’s hard Brexit, now, it seems, is not the time for Jewish anxiety.
“But anti-Semitism is central to a wider debate about the kind of country we want to be.
“To ignore it because Brexit looms larger is to declare that anti-Jewish prejudice is a price worth paying for a Labour government.
“Which other community’s concerns are disposable in this way? Who would be next?
“Opposition to racism cannot include surrender in the fight against anti-Semitism. Yet that is what it would mean to back Labour and endorse Mr Corbyn for Downing Street.
“The path to a more tolerant society must encompass Britain’s Jews with unwavering solidarity. We endorse no party.
“However, we cannot in all conscience urge others to support a political party we ourselves will not. We refuse to vote Labour on December 12.”
The other signatories are Fay Weldon, William Boyd, Antony Beevor, Sathnam Sanghera, Janina Ramirez, Trevor Phillips, Suzannah Lipscomb, Tom Holland, Peter Frankopan, Ghanem Nuseibeh, Dan Snow, Fiyaz Mughal, Tony Parsons, Dan Jones, Maajid Nawaz, Oz Katerji, Nick Hewer, Ed Husain and Terry Jervis.
A Labour party spokesman said: “We take allegations of antisemitism extremely seriously, we are taking robust action and we are absolutely committed to rooting it out of our party and wider society.”