Labour’s by-election candidate in Rochdale was “completely wrong” to say Israel deliberately allowed the 7 October massacre to give it the “green light” to invade Gaza, the party’s UK campaign coordinator has said.
But senior shadow frontbencher Pat McFadden told Sky News’ Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips confirmed Azhar Ali will still stand for the party when the vote takes place on 29 February.
The deadline for nominations closed on 2 February, effectively making it too late to change.
It comes after Mr Ali’s remarks, contained in a secret recording, were published by The Mail On Sunday newspaper.
They have been condemned by the Jewish community and MPs.
Mr McFadden said “His comments were completely wrong. He should never have said something like that.
“He’s issued a complete apology and retraction and I hope he learns a good lesson from it because he should never have said something like that in the first place.”
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Mr McFadden added: “It was wrong to say that you should never have said it, and it’s right that he is completely apologised now and he himself said it was wrong to say it and that’s the right thing to do.”
Pressed over whether he would remain Labour’s candidate, Mr McFadden said: “Yes, he will.”
Mr Ali made his comments at a meeting of the Lancashire Labour Party in the wake of the October atrocity, where he claimed the Israeli government had removed its border security to enable the Hamas attack.
He said: “The Egyptians are saying that they warned Israel ten days earlier… Americans warned them a day before [that] there’s something happening… They deliberately took the security off, they allowed… that massacre that gives them the green light to do whatever they bloody want.”
After someone suggested Sir Keir Starmer was “held in high regard”, Mr Ali replied: “Can I disagree with you… A lot of the MPs I’ve spoken to, non-Muslim MPs, feel that on this issue, he’s lost the confidence of the parliamentary party.”
Mr Ali, a Lancashire County councillor and former government adviser who was made an OBE in 2020 for public service, was was selected last month to contest the poll, caused by the death of Sir Tony Lloyd.
He is defending a Labour majority of more than 9,000 in Rochdale.
