A Labour parliamentary candidate faced calls to stand down today after she was linked to an alleged anti-Semitic campaign to unseat a Jewish councillor.
Jeremy Corbyn ally Apsana Begum has already apologised for an anti-Semitic post which she shared on Facebook that accused Saudi Arabia of being in thrall to “Zionist masters”.
Ms Begum, who was a senior member of the Left-wing group Momentum, is running in the safe Labour seat of Poplar and Limehouse.
However, it has since emerged that she was also part of Tower Hamlets Momentum which posted an alleged anti-Semitic tweet about Jewish Tory councillor Peter Golds in April last year.
The tweet showed Canary Wharf banking district with the headline: “For the many not Golds. Help Labour win Island Gardens.”
Ms Begum, who was pictured out campaigning by the Tower Hamlets Momentum Twitter account about the same time, denies any involvement in the post.
A Labour source said: "Apsana says she had nothing to do with the tweet, which was not posted from her account. There does not appear to be any basis for claiming this is in any way linked to her."
Mr Golds said Ms Begum was not suitable to be an MP and added: “This is an absolutely clear-cut example of an anti-Semitic trope.”
The Tower Hamlets Momentum group claims on its Facebook page that Ms Begum is their “own” and has “worked tirelessly for our local group”. She is also pictured holding up “Momentum Tower Hamlets” banners at Free Palestine protests.
Euan Philipps, spokesman for Labour Against Anti-Semitism, said: “The Labour Party needs to suspend Ms Begum and ask her to step down as their official candidate. It would be beyond belief to allow her to continue.”
The posts have since been deleted. The Standard contacted Momentum for comment. At the time the local Labour Party said: “The tweet was drawn to the attention of our election agent. Given the potential for misinterpretation, the agent asked for it to be taken down.”
Ms Begum said: “I’m committed to working to fight anti-Semitism both inside the Labour Party and in wider society.” She is also facing an investigation over whether she wrongly secured a council flat. Labour sources denied she had acted improperly.
