Chris Williamson: the Labour MP at centre of anti-Semitism row
Corbyn urged to overturn the Derby North MP’s reinstatement to party
More than 100 Labour MPs and peers have written to Jeremy Corbyn demanding that he expel MP Chris Williamson from the party.
Williamson was suspended from Labour in February over comments he had made about allegations of anti-Semitism in the party. However, he was readmitted on Wednesday by a three-person panel of the National Executive Committee (NEC), the party’s governing body, following a disciplinary inquiry.
The decision has been blasted by 121 Labour parliamentarians - including Corbyn’s deputy Tom Watson and ten other frontbenchers - who have signed a letter to the party leader arguing that the case is “particularly important” at a time when Labour is under investigation by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) over alleged anti-Semitism.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Watson told the BBC that he was “bewildered” by the NEC’s choice to readmit Williamson, saying: “They have taken away a proper disciplinary inquiry that would have got to the facts of this case.”
The open letter calls on Corbyn to “show leadership” by asking for this “inappropriate, offensive and reputationally damaging decision to be overturned and reviewed”.
It adds: “The Labour Party’s disciplinary process remains mired by the appearance of political interference. This must stop.”
Separately, more than 70 Labour staff members have written to the party’s general secretary, Jennie Formby, to express their unhappiness over Williamson’s readmission.
Who is Chris Williamson?
A former bricklayer and social worker, Chris Williamson led Derby Council twice before being elected to the House of Commons in 2010. He is now serving his second term as Labour MP for Derby North.
The BBC notes that the 62-year-old is “one of the most outspoken MPs on the left of the party”. That said, Williamson is “one of the few backbenchers who agrees with Jeremy Corbyn on almost everything”, adds The Daily Telegraph.
Williamson has previously joined his pro-Corbyn colleagues in calling for MPs who criticise their leader to be de-selected.
What did he say about anti-Semitism?
Williamson was caught on film making controversial remarks during a meeting with Labour activists in Sheffield. In the footage, which was made public in February, he tells supporters that Labour had been “too apologetic” over anti-Semitism and was being “demonised as a racist, bigoted party”.
Following a public outcry, Williamson said he “deeply regretted” the remarks and did not want to be seen to be “minimising the cancer of anti-Semitism”.
However, in an interview this week he refused “five times” to admit that he had done anything wrong, according to the Daily Mail.
He told BBC Radio Derby: “Anybody who knows me, who knows my record, knows I’m someone who has stood up against bigotry throughout my political life and indeed beforehand.”
What does Corbyn say?
Campaigning in Hartlepool, Corbyn told the BBC he “wasn’t involved” in the decision to readmit Williamson to the party. The Labour leader said: “It was an independent panel set up through the National Executive. They examined the case, they decided to let him back in, albeit with a reprimand.”
He added: “Anyone that makes anti-Semitic remarks can expect at the very least to be reprimanded, and if they are very serious and engaged in anti-Semitic activity then they will be expelled from the party.”
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Women are getting their own baseball league again
In the Spotlight The league is on track to debut in 2026
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Giant TVs are becoming the next big retail commodity
Under the Radar Some manufacturers are introducing TVs over 8 feet long
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
When will mortgage rates finally start coming down?
The Explainer Much to potential homebuyers' chagrin, mortgage rates are still elevated
By Becca Stanek, The Week US Published
-
Last hopes for justice for UK's nuclear test veterans
Under the Radar Thousands of ex-service personnel say their lives have been blighted by aggressive cancers and genetic mutations
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Will Donald Trump wreck the Brexit deal?
Today's Big Question President-elect's victory could help UK's reset with the EU, but a free-trade agreement with the US to dodge his threatened tariffs could hinder it
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
What is the next Tory leader up against?
Today's Big Question Kemi Badenoch or Robert Jenrick will have to unify warring factions and win back disillusioned voters – without alienating the centre ground
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Is Labour risking the 'special relationship'?
Today's Big Question Keir Starmer forced to deny Donald Trump's formal complaint that Labour staffers are 'interfering' to help Harris campaign
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
What is Lammy hoping to achieve in China?
Today's Big Question Foreign secretary heads to Beijing as Labour seeks cooperation on global challenges and courts opportunities for trade and investment
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Men in Gray suits: why the plots against Starmer's top adviser?
Today's Big Question Increasingly damaging leaks about Sue Gray reflect 'bitter acrimony' over her role and power struggle in new government
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Is Britain about to 'boil over'?
Today's Big Question A message shared across far-right groups listed more than 30 potential targets for violence in the UK today
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
UK's Starmer slams 'far-right thuggery' at riots
Speed Read The anti-immigrant violence was spurred by false rumors that the suspect in the Southport knife attack was an immigrant
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published