AN influential Labour peer held a secret meeting with a far-right politician known for defending members of the Nazi SS.
Maurice Glasman, the founder and a leading figure of the right-leaning Blue Labour faction, met with Maximilian Krah from the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in the Westminster parliament last week, Zeteo UK first reported.
Krah’s AfD are a far-right party in Germany and in 2025 were officially designated an extremist group by the Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz (BfV), the German domestic intelligence agency.
Krah, an MP in the German parliament, himself drew international condemnation in 2024 when he defended the Nazi-era SS in an interview with the Italian newspaper La Repubblica.
“I won’t say that [someone] was automatically a criminal because he wore an SS uniform,” Krah said.
A spokesperson for Glasman defended the meeting, telling Zeteo UK that it was private and had taken place at the far-right German politician’s request.
Glasman was said to have attended in order to better understand AfD thinking, but had no plans to meet with representatives of the extremist group again.
“Lord Glasman regularly engages with people with whom he does not agree, which is the case here. They do not share the same views,” the spokesperson added.
Nick Lowles, the chief executive of Hope Not Hate, called Glasman’s meeting with the far-right German extremist “unacceptable”.
“It’s hugely inappropriate to normalise meetings with members of the far right and invite them into the British Parliament,” he said.
“The Labour Party and its representatives should have nothing to do with the AfD.
“Sadly, Glasman has a history of befriending figures on the far right. He has been a strong advocate of Donald Trump and counts Steve Bannon as a friend.”
It is understood that the Labour Party – which has no links to the AfD – was not aware of the meeting and did not facilitate it.
Glasman’s Blue Labour group includes Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood. She previously told The Telegraph: “I have a natural affinity for the faith, flag and family element of Blue Labour.”
Glasman told Politico her appointment to the Home Secretary role was “fantastic” and "she’s now clearly the leader of our part of the party".
