A Labour candidate has apologised after previously claiming there was ‘no proof’ ISIS exists in one of a spate of controversial Facebook posts.
Safia Noor, 25, was selected as the left-wing party’s new candidate for the Small Heath ward in Birmingham city council elections next year.
But the law student has come under fire after it emerged the school governor has posted a string of highly controversial messages on social media about ISIS and UK terror attacks.
The same day as the Westminster terror attack in March this year, which left five dead, she posted: ‘Can people relax and stop fighting on Facebook, sadly people died in Westminster today but people die everyday in Syria Palestine Africa Rohingya Kashmir.. Need I carry on?!! Grow up and stop pointing fingers!’
Safia Noor, 25, was selected as the left-wing party’s new candidate for the Small Heath ward in Birmingham city council elections next year
She posted #AdultsPlayingDumb and #UnityNotWar below the message.
On the same day in a message only to her followers, Noor posted: ‘Terrorist attack…and even the terrorist died?! Let me guess, he was a Muslim!’
On March 27, five days after the Westminster attack, she commented on a Guardian article which had the headline: ‘Westminster attacker Khalid Masood had interest in Jihad – police’.
She then posted: ‘So someone got stabbed after the attack last week as a result of media and government claiming that SO CALLED ISIS HAD CLAIMED RESPONSIBILITY.
‘There is no ISIS and there is no proof.’
She also ‘liked’ an article by the Independent which was headlined: ‘Egyptian state media claims 9/11 was carried out by West to justify war on terror’ on September last year.
Noor said there was ‘no ISIS and there is no proof’ just five days after the Westminster terror attack in March this year
Safia Noor with Labour MPs Shabana Mahmood and Liam Byrne
When The Birmingham Mail contacted Noor about the incidents, she abruptly interrupted them saying: ‘At this point in time it is not appropriate for me to speak about any of this, simply because I’m in the middle of something.’
Noor has previously been photographed with high-profile Labour MPs, including Yvette Cooper, Jess Philips and Shabana Mahmood.
In a statment email after, she said: ‘Following your phone call I would like to say: ‘Having read these comments back I accept I should have chosen my words more carefully. I didn’t intend to cause any offence and I apologise to anyone who found those comments offensive or upsetting.
‘I completely condemn all terrorist acts.’
A spokesman for Labour’s local regional office was contacted but declined to comment.
But it is understood the party welcomed Ms Noor’s apology.
Ms Noor appears to have backed Yvette Cooper in a previous Labour leadership election campaign