Azhar Ali: Labour withdraws support for Rochdale candidate

Prospective MP is 'ditched' by party after newspaper reports 'more of his anti-Semitic comments'

Azhar Ali
Labour cannot replace Ali as its by-election candidate because nominations have closed
(Image credit: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

Labour says it has "withdrawn support" for its Rochdale by-election candidate Azhar Ali after he allegedly told a party meeting that Israel had "allowed" the deadly attacks by Hamas gunmen on 7 October.

Ali's comments were "completely and utterly unacceptable", said shadow cabinet minister Nick Thomas-Symonds. However, he added, Ali understood the "gravity of the offence that has been caused" and had "unreservedly apologised", said the BBC. Rishi Sunak accused Labour of only withdrawing support for Ali due to media pressure. "That's not principled," Sunak said.

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Arion McNicoll is a freelance writer at The Week Digital and was previously the UK website’s editor. He has also held senior editorial roles at CNN, The Times and The Sunday Times. Along with his writing work, he co-hosts “Today in History with The Retrospectors”, Rethink Audio’s flagship daily podcast, and is a regular panellist (and occasional stand-in host) on “The Week Unwrapped”. He is also a judge for The Publisher Podcast Awards.