Keir Starmer forced to ditch his Rochdale candidate (Image: Getty)
Sir Keir Starmer was forced to sever ties with Labour’s candidate in the Rochdale by-election and admit defeat in after fresh accusations against his candidate.
The Labour leader had faced accusations he was protecting a “racist crank” after his party rallied round MP hopeful Azhar Ali,who claimed Israel allowed the October 7 massacre to happen so it had cover to invade Gaza.
But the party cut ties last night after receiving more allegations about the councillor.
A Labour spokesperson said: “Following new information about further comments made by Azhar Ali coming to light today, the Labour party has withdrawn its support for Azhar Ali as our candidate in the Rochdale byelection.
“Keir Starmer has changed Labour so that it is unrecognisible from the party of 2019. We understand that these are highly unusual circumstances but it is vital that any candidate put forward by Labour fully represents its aims and values.
“Given that nominations have now closed Azhar Ali cannot be replaced as the candidate.”
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Keir Starmer accused of having no backbone over Israel stance
Labour frontbenchers joined Mr Ali at a campaign event and claimed he had been the victim of an online conspiracy theory.
But last night Tory party chairman Richard Holden wrote to Sir Keir demanding answers about why Mr Ali remains supported by Labour.
He said: “Cllr Azhar Ali is clearly a racist crank who is being protected by Sir Keir Starmer.”
Within hours Labour announced he would no longer be their candidate. But it is too late for the party to field a new person to contest the seat.
It means Mr Ali could still win as an independent, but clears the way for firebrand George Galloway to win.
Earlier, he claimed Labour was caught in a “mousetrap”.
Speaking in Rochdale, he told the Daily Express: "There has been no apology ever given quite so craven and quite so insincere as the one he gave.
"This is a major league disaster for Keir Starmer because having been comprehensively beaten by us here in the Asian communities, he was counting on squeaking through with the support of white English people.
Reform candidate Simon Danczuk, who used to be the town’s Labour, said Mr Ali only decided the comments were wrong “after he got caught out” and said his apology was “wholly inadequate”.
He said the row is “damaging” democracy because Mr Ali cannot be taken off the ballot paper because the deadline has passed.
Shadow international development minister Lisa Nandy was pictured on at campaign event on Monday.
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Labour’s Nick Thomas-Symonds told broadcasters on Monday morning he believed that Mr Ali had fallen “for an online conspiracy theory.”
He said it would be “unfair” to draw a wider conclusion the Labour still has a problem with anti-Semitism. Home Secretary James Cleverly said: “I’m not sure ‘Our candidate believed and repeated a vile and clearly antisemitic smear that he saw on the internet’ is quite the defence that Labour think it is.”
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