Former BBC head Danny Cohen has said the Jewish community could not vote for Jeremy Corbyn after the Labour leader repeatedly failed to tackle antisemitism within his party's ranks.

Mr Cohen, former director of BBC TV, said he was “deeply troubled” by revelations of Jew-hate within the party.

In an interview with the Times published on Saturday, he said: “If you are Jewish how can you vote for them? How could you?

“For me it would be like being a Muslim and voting for Donald Trump, how could you do it?

“You have to feel absolutely confident that it is totally unacceptable and it won’t be tolerated and I personally haven’t felt comfortable that it is happening yet in the Labour party.”

Mr Cohen, who stepped down from his BBC post in November, added: “I am deeply troubled about what is going on in the Labour Party. I am deeply troubled that our main opposition party is having such frequent problems with antisemitism. It really disturbs and troubles me.”

His remarks come after widespread condemnation over Mr Corbyn’s apparent failure to tackle Jew-hate in his party, after he welcomed back members who had made antisemitic comments.

But Mr Corbyn has repeatedly said he is “absolutely resolute” in combatting antisemitism.