Corbyn think tank launches ‘absurd’ attack on Stormzy over McDonald’s Israel links

Former Labour leader and leftwing activist Jeremy Corbyn has launched an ‘absurd’ campaign to force rapper Stormzy to end his partnership with McDonald’s because of the fast food chain’s links to Israel.

The Peace and Justice Project, a campaign group established by the independent MP in 2021, urged Stormzy to “help us take genocide off the menu” after the rapper collaborated with McDonald’s on a themed meal.

The 31-year-old musician, recently announced a collaboration with the golden arches, unveiling “The Stormzy Meal” and featuring in an ad campaign for the fast food giant.

Corbyn’s project cited the recent demands by the BDS movement to boycott McDonald’s “until it cuts ties with Israeli franchisees over support for Israel’s campaign of ethnic cleansing and genocide against the Palestinian people”.

“Stormzy’s decision to partner with McDonald's allows them to culture-wash their reputation as caterers of genocide in Gaza” it added in an open letter.

“We are therefore asking Stormzy to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people in their hour of need and respect the BDS committee’s call for a global boycott of McDonald’s by ending his new partnership with them”, the group went on.

Rapper Stormzy performs onstage (Image: Getty).Getty Images for Vogue

But the rapper was defended by Croydon South MP, and Shadow Home Secretary, Chris Philp.

“Corbyn presided over a Labour Party found by the Equality and Human Rights Commission to be antisemitic. This absurd campaign shows he has learnt nothing” he said.

During Israel’s war against Hamas, McDonalds’ Israeli franchise gave away free meals to soldiers, which sparked the calls for a boycott.

In a post on Linkedin in January 2024, McDonalds CEO Chris Kempczinski said that the company had experienced “a meaningful business impact due to the war and associated misinformation that is affecting brands like McDonald’s.”

He went on: “This is disheartening and ill-founded. In every country where we operate, including in Muslim countries, McDonald’s is proudly represented by local owner operators who work tirelessly to serve and support their communities while employing thousands of their fellow citizens. That local community connection is the genius of the McDonald’s System.

Meanwhile Philp also urged Prime Minister to object to Corbyn’s campaign, adding: “Keir Starmer sat alongside Corbyn and said nothing about his party’s antisemitism when Corbyn was Labour Leader. I wonder if he will say anything now.”

When elected as Labour leader in 2020 one of Starmer’s first acts was to apologise to the Jewish community for antisemitism in the party.

Jeremy Corbyn was prevented from standing for Labour at the 2024 general election for saying that saying the scale of antisemitism in the party had been “dramatically overstated for political reasons.”

Corbyn won his Islington North constituency as an independent candidate and emphasised his opposition to Israel’s war in Gaza throughout his campaign.

He and four other MPs elected on a similar platform went on to form the “Independent Alliance” in Parliament.

It comes after Corbyn and his former Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell were interviewed under caution as part of an investigation into claims that organisers of a pro-Palestine protest attempted to breach conditions imposed on it by police.