Labour has suspended an activist who shared an antisemitic image from a white supremacist website in March last year – and was also allowed to attend the party’s conference in September.

Kayla Bibby, who represented the Liverpool Riverside constituency at the conference, posted an image on Facebook showing the Statue of Liberty being smothered by an alien with the Star of David on its back. She wrote below the image: “The most accurate photo I’ve seen all year!” 

The image had been taken from a far-right website, Incogman, where it had been used to illustrate an article that portrayed Jews as “parasitic” and said they were to blame for “financial heists of entire nations”.

The move to suspend Ms Bibby, who was also barred from Labour’s candidates list, came after Liverpool Riverside’s MP Louise Ellman complained that her case had not been dealt with strongly enough.

After news of her hate post surfaced, Ms Bibby received a formal warning, known as a “reminder of conduct”, but was not ordered to undertake any training on antisemitism. In November it emerged Labour had been investigating her case for over three months and she had been 'due' to recieve antisemitism training.

Ms Ellman raised the case at the meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) on Monday, complaining to Labour Party Secretary Jenni Formby that these actions had been inadequate.

Ms Ellman told HuffPost: “I welcome the fact that the Labour Party have taken action at last, but it is shameful that I had to pursue the case in this way and expose the party’s shortcomings.

“Further investigations must take place while the suspension occurs. This should not be the end of it, but it’s an important first step. Somebody who acted in this way should have no place in the Labour party.”

Ms Ellman has said she would write to Ms Formby to ask why Ms Bibby was not immediately suspended after news emerged of the hate post.