The former president of the Board of Deputies, Marie van der Zyl, has joined the Labour Party after stepping down from her role at the end of May after six years in office.

She said she had never previously joined a political party but was now proud to join Labour.

“I feel that Keir Starmer has stuck to his words and done everything possible to deal with antisemitism,” she said.

Van der Zyl had been on the advisory board on antisemitism set up by the party in 2020 after a damning report by the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

She said that on the first day he became leader, he had had called and “told me that he would root out antisemitism in the party”.

Her husband Adrian Cohen, who has just taken office as the senior vice-president of the Board, chairs Labour Friends of Israel.

The new president of the Board, Phil Rosenberg, who was elected last month, is a former Labour councillor in the London borough of Camden.