Edinburgh MP Ian Murray launches deputy Labour leadership bid with promise to stamp out bigotry

Ian Murray has launched his campaign to become Labour's deputy leader in Edinburgh today with a call for a "zero tolerance" approach to anti-semitism.

Speaking at his old school in Wester Hailes, Murray said he would "take personal responsibly for rooting out bullying, harassment and antisemitism" in his party. 

Murray became Scottish Labour's last remaining MP when he was in last month's general election.

A vocal critic of Labour's current leader Jeremy Corbyn, Murray argued the party must become a "credible alternative Government, not a party of perpetual opposition".

He added: "We must reach out and listen to every corner of this country and every person in our country.

“Our party can only win by winning support across the whole of the United Kingdom, by building a coalition of all types of people with a variety of interests."

Ian Murray MP promised a zero tolerance approach to anti-semitism in the Labour Party if he is elected deputy leader (PA)

He also put fighting anti-semitism at the heart of his pitch, calling anti-Jewish sentiment in his party a "cancer".

Murray said: “I’m embarrassed about the cancer of antisemitism in our party.

“As deputy leader I will ensure a zero-tolerance approach to bullying, harassment and antisemitism.

“I will take personal responsibility for the grievance and complaints process, and I will be held responsible for enforcing that zero-tolerance approach."

He added: “Never again do I want any Jewish person to feel that they do not have a home in the Labour Party, that they can’t trust us to do the right thing, or that they feel our party would make the country a more dangerous place for them."

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