A key ally of Jeremy Corbyn has risked reigniting the row over antisemitism in Labour after accusing the party leader's critics of having "lost every shred of decency".
Len McCluskey, the leader of the Unite trade union, said MPs claiming the Labour leader was "racist" had also "lost every sense of moral proportion"
Earlier in the year, Labour grandee Margaret Hodge faced a disciplinary probe after telling her party leader he was "a racist and an antisemite".
It followed months of criticism over Mr Corbyn's record of controversial statements, and his handling of antisemitism in Labour.
During a fiery speech at Labour's annual conference in Liverpool, Mr McCluskey received rapturous applause as he attacked MPs who criticised MR Corbyn over antisemitism.
Speaking from the platform, he said: "Anyone has a right to disagree and a right to criticise - we are a democratic party - but I am talking about some MPs turning into an echo chamber for whatever line of attack the Tories and the press are deploying against it
"Yes anyone with a point of view should be heard, but anyone screaming 'you are a racist' at Jeremy Corbyn has lost every sense of moral proportion, and I might add, comrades, that they've lost every shred of decency as well."
He added: "It's time for all of us - each and every one of us - to speak up for our leader: the most decent and principled man in politics today.
"He should not have to face these attacks alone, and while Unite is here and good comrades like you, he never will have to."
Mr McCluskey's comments risk reigniting the row over antisemitism that has engulfed the party in recent months.
He also continued his attack on the media, insisting Labour should "not take any lessons from the professional racists of the Daily Mail and The Sun".
Mr McCluskey has previously provoked an angry response by describing talk of antisemitism in Labour as "mood music" and attacking Jewish groups.
He was also embroiled in an angry row last night with Jewish protestors outside an event organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign.
He responded to one demonstrator suggesting Labour was institutionally racist by saying: "If you want to talk about institutional racism, go to the Tories, they're the institutional racism."
It comes a day after Labour MPs criticised Mr Corbyn's handling of antisemitism and warned that it could cost Labour the next general election.
Wes Streeting, the Ilford MP, said voters would never elect "a party so indifferent to, or complicit in, racism", while Ian Austin, MP for Dudley claimed Mr Corbyn was "much angrier with the people complaining about antisemitism than he is with the people responsible for it".
Later in the conference delegates will vote on a motion on the topic of "Palestine" after party members voted that it should be given greater priority than issues such as the NHS and in-work poverty.
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