Labour antisemitism row grows over ‘shambolic’ U-turn on Rochdale election candidate

A Tory MP failed to declare his wife’s £50,000 shareholding in BP while speaking in debates about windfall taxes on the oil and gas industry, parliament’s standards watchdog has found, Archie Mitchell reports.

The parliamentary commissioner for standards said there were three debates last year in which David Duguid should have declared the £50,000 shareholding.

It came after The Guardian reported Mr Duguid, who worked for BP for a decade, had transferred his shares into his wife’s name five years before becoming an MP.

Standards commissioner Daniel Greenberg said that in the three debates, the shareholding “might reasonably be thought by others to influence [his] words or actions as a member”.

Mr Duguid said he did not believe “anything I could have, let alone actually, said or did as a member of parliament could have had any bearing on the BP share price”.

The MP for Banff and Buchan acknowledged the breach, apologised and agreed to attend training on the rules.

A government minister has refused to say how many new homes it hopes will be built under new plans aimed at expanding the use of brownfield sites.

Lee Rowley insisted he would not get into a “numbers game” when asked what the target was for further developments under the proposals.

Labour has increased its lead over the Conservatives by two percentage points, according to a poll.

A Deltapoll survey has the opposition on 45 per cent (+2) with the governing party on 27 per cent (unchanged) – giving Labour a huge lead of 18 per cent.

The Lib Dems were down two points to 8 per cent. Deltapoll surveyed 1,977 adults between 2 and 5 February.

Rishi Sunak has defended his under-fire Rwanda policy as the UK public grilled the prime minister live on TV.

A spokesman for Mr Hancock, the independent MP for West Suffolk, said it was “entirely reasonable” for the government to arrange his travel to the inquiry given that he was attending as the former health secretary.

Labour’s former director of policy has said the party’s handling of Azhar Ali’s alleged antisemitic comments “revealed a double standard”.

Andrew Fisher’s comments came after former MP Dame Louise Ellman told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I was very shocked when I read about and heard Azhar Ali’s comments, and I was very shocked because they were really at odds with my experience of him over a period of 20 years, where he consistently spoke out against extremism, against antisemitism.

“When I looked at his apology I could see that it was a proper apology, (he) apologised for what he said, not apologising for the words, or (like) some people say, for any offence caused.”

Mr Fisher, former director of policy under Jeremy Corbyn, responded on Today: “(The treatment of Mr Ali) revealed a double standard. I think you’ve heard that from Louise Ellman just now, she very openly said I worked with him, he was an ally of mine, we gave him the benefit of the doubt.

“That doesn’t apply to people who are on the left, ever, and that’s the double standard.

“These disciplinary processes are used for factional reasons within the Labour Party and that results in people like Azhar Ali being given the benefit of the doubt, being backed up by shadow cabinet ministers on the radio. Shadow cabinet ministers still going out campaigning for him on Sunday.”

Rosie Duffield says her party needs to be clearer over what they stand for – and stop sitting on the fence on big issues, Archie Mitchell reports.

The Labour MP also criticised Keir Starmer’s decision to u-turn on the party’s key green spending pledge.

She told GB News : “I don’t have any sort of input into the future manifesto as a backbencher, but I know that a lot of Labour MPs would really like some clarity on our policies going forward because we’re always asked about it. I was really disappointed with the scrapping of the green pledges, as were lots of other vocal Labour MPs, so it would be nice to get a bit more clarity on those issues. A bit less fence sitting in the next few months.

“And we’re going to have to do that, aren’t we? So people know what we stand for?”

Asked if she, herself, felt she really knew what Labour stands for on some of the bigger issues she continued: “No. I think people are obviously developing our manifesto. So hopefully we’ll hear that quite soon.”

Ms Duffield also said her party had work to do when it came to being clearer over trans-issues.

She added: “We haven’t exactly been clear on those issues for the last few years, but I mean, what can I say I think we’re still in a bit of a mess about it, to be completely honest. I’m not sure sitting on the fence on this issue is really winning the Labour Party and your friends.”

Labour MPs feel there is a “disparity in treatment” within the party about antisemitism allegations, the lawyer of the Forde Report has said.

Martin Forde KC led the 2022 report that found factional disputes between the party’s right and left under former leader Jeremy Corbyn, and that both sides had weaponised antisemitism.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that Labour’s decision to withdraw support from its Rochdale by-election candidate Azhar Ali 36 hours after allegations of antisemitism emerged “appears pretty shambolic”.

Mr Forde said: “If you want a fair and transparent system then it has to deal with people consistently, and I’m aware from discussions with some of the MPs within the party – who might be described as left-leaning – that they feel that when it comes to disciplinary action taken against them then things move rather slowly, but if you’re in the right faction of the party, as it were, then things are dealt with either more leniently or more swiftly.

“Now that’s the perception, I can’t quantify it, but I do think it’s something that leadership should be concerned to, in a away, dilute, or if it is in fact the case, they need to give reassurance to members of the voting public and to their members that people will be treated fairly.”

Housing minister Lee Rowley accused Labour of “going to ground” after no shadow minister appeared on Tuesday’s morning media round amid criticism of remarks made by Rochdale by-election candidate Azhar Ali.

Mr Rowley told Sky News: “I mean, where is Labour? Where’s Labour today? Talking to people like yourselves, they’re not doing it.

“They’re going to ground.”

It was put to Mr Rowley that he was on “dodgy ground” accusing another party of going to ground when the government is “not always around”, to which he replied: “That is a party which has not changed. It’s a party which will say anything to win government, and I hope people are watching.

“They’ve got no plan and they’re getting themselves into a real mess over things like this.”