A Liverpool politician has been accused of engaging in anti-Semitic behaviour after he allegedly changed the lyrics of the Beatles song “Hey Jude."
Walton Labour MP Dan Carden, who serves as the shadow international development secretary, is accused of singing the adapted version of the Fab Four hit while travelling back to London from the Cheltenham festival in 2018.
He has today denied the claims in a social media statement - and questioned the timing of the story.
Revealed by BuzzFeed News, it is claimed their reporter was sitting behind Carden, and St Helens MP Conor McGinn, a former Labour whip who is considering standing for the party’s deputy leadership after Tom Watson quit this week.
It is alleged that McGinn, an MP for St Helens North, repeatedly used the word “poof” during the same journey, when Carden drunkenly slumped across him, instructing his friend to "get off."
The ECHO has tried to reach Mr Carden today to respond to the claims, but are yet to receive a response.
But in a statement on Twitter, this morning, he said: "I have been categorical in my denial about allegations relating to a coach trip some twenty months ago.
"This was a coach full of journalists and MPs.
"If anyone genuinely believed any anti-Semitic behaviour had taken place, they would’ve had a moral responsibility to report it immediately.
"Yet this allegation is only made now when a General Election is imminent.
"I stand by my record as an anti racist campaigner.
"I would never be part of any behaviour that undermines my commitment to fighting racism in all its forms."
Buzzfeed News reported that Mr Carden, who is a close ally of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, repeatedly sang the chorus of “Hey Jude”, substituting the word “Jude” with “Jews."
When the chorus reached the word “Jude”, the website claims Mr Carden chanted at the top of his voice: “Jews, Jews, Jews."
Mr McGinn, who apparently spent much of the coach trip asleep, also issued a statement.
A spokesperson said: “Conor’s record as a staunch supporter of the LGBT community speaks for itself.
"As an MP he led the campaign which delivered a monumental and historic change in the law to finally extend equal marriage to the whole of the UK.”
In his young days, Mr Carden he supported his father Mike through the Liverpool Docker’s Strike.
He went on to study at the London School of Economics before working in Parliament and with Len McCluskey at Unite.
He became Walton MP in 2017 and was quickly promoted to Labour's front bench after impressing with his work as a constituency MP.
