Become a Member
News

Labour frontbencher apologises for post about ‘dangerous’ Zionism

MP Lloyd Russell-Moyle also suggested Jewish claims to Israel were ‘not progressive’

July 12, 2020 09:30
Lloyd Russell-Moyle
1 min read

Labour frontbench MP Lloyd Russell-Moyle has apologised for suggesting Jewish claims to Israel were “not progressive in [their] very nature” and that Zionism was a “dangerous nationalist idea”.

Mr Russell-Moyle, a shadow environment minister and former ally of Jeremy Corbyn, made the comments on a Woodcraft Folk (WF) Facebook group before becoming an MP in 2017.

Mr Russell-Moyle was previously chair of the WF, an education group, and while he held the role in 2010, children as young as nine voted to boycott Israeli goods at the group's annual meeting.

The Sunday Times reported that after being asked about the comments, he apologised, adding: “I have now deleted these posts and recognise why they were offensive.”