What did Graham Jones say? Labour suspends ex-Hyndburn MP over Israel comments with Rochdale candidate

Labour has suspended a second Parliamentary candidate for comments about Israel as the by-election scandal threatens to widen.

Keir Starmer’s party has been pitched into another row about the handling of anti-Semitism allegations, after Rochdale candidate Azhar Ali was recorded saying Israel “allowed” the 7 October massacre by Hamas as a pretext of invading Gaza.

The party initially stood by Ali, before saying it would not support him in the by-election on Monday when more comments came to light. Now the candidate for Hyndburn, Lancashire, and former MP Graham Jones has also been suspended for comments made about Israel at the same meeting on 31 October.

The row piles further pressure on Starmer ahead of two key by-elections in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, and Kingswood, South Gloucestershire, tomorrow (15 February).

What did Graham Jones say?

Audio, obtained by website Guido Fawkes, appeared to show the former Labour MP use the words “f****** Israel” at the same meeting Ali attended. The clip also appears to show he suggested that British people who volunteer to fight with the Israel Defence Forces should be “locked up”.

Jones said: "I'm sure when [world leaders] go home, like me, pardon my French [they say] 'fucking Israel' again." On the IDF, he said: "No British person should be fighting for any other country at all, full stop. It is against the law and you should be locked up."

With his candidacy for Hyndburn now in doubt, it is understood Jones was called to an interview on Tuesday evening with party officials. Any move to drop him as a candidate would have to follow a formal party process.

Who is Graham Jones?

Graham Jones, 57, was the Labour MP for Hyndburn in Lancashire from 2010 to 2019. He grew up in Accrington and previously worked for Blackburn with Darwen Council as part of its bin collection. Jones studied graphic design, and worked on the prepress of the Manchester Evening News.

He became a Labour councillor on Hyndburn Council in 2001, and then won the seat in 2010. Jones was a whip from 2010 to 2015 however resigned from the frontbench when Jeremy Corbyn became leader, saying he could not serve the "extreme left" and that Corbyn did not hold Labour's "true values".

Jones was part of the successful campaign to reduce the maximum stake of fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs) - described as the “crack cocaine of gambling” from £100 to £2. He lost his seat to the Conservative Sara Britcliffe in 2019. She was later pictured in a nightclub wearing a t-shirt with Jones’ face on, which he described as being “disgusting” and “childish”. His partner is councillor Kimberley Whitehead.

What did Azhar Ali say?

Rochdale by-election candidate and county councillor Azhar Ali’s comments were the first to be revealed from the meeting on 31 October. The Mail on Sunday reported that Ali said: "The Egyptians are saying that they warned Israel 10 days earlier ... Americans warned them a day before [that] there's something happening.

"They deliberately took the security off, they allowed ... that massacre that gives them the green light to do whatever they bloody want."

The Mail then revealed further comments by Ali at the same meeting, which led to Labour withdrawing support. In the Mail's recording he appeared to blame "people in the media from certain Jewish quarters" for getting the whip withdrawn from Andy MacDonald. Stating that Jewish people control the media is a classic anti-Semitic trope.

He also said at the meeting: "Israel has that plan, which is to get rid of [the Palestinians] from Gaza, push them out ... and then they've got Gaza to themselves, and you know, they'll say because the security risks to Israel and the Jewish state, you know, we can't come back. So we've actually said that, in our letter, (this) is about a land grab." Ali later boasted about not flying the Israeli flag after the 7 October attack.

The county councillor has since apologised for his comments, saying: "I apologise unreservedly to the Jewish community for my comments which were deeply offensive, ignorant, and false. Hamas's horrific terror attack was the responsibility of Hamas alone, and they are still holding hostages who must be released.”

What has Labour said?

Shadow defence secretary John Healey said today (14 February) that not everyone in his party was a “saint”, but said Labour should be judged on how it responds to complaints or allegations.

He said: “Restoring, retaining the trust of the Jewish community and any community is a constant process. And Keir Starmer is deeply, deeply aware of that.

“He pledged to root out anti-Semitism as part of the changes he wanted to make to Labour, regarded them as essential. He’s done that. But this is not a party of people who are saints.

“When people do things that may be wrong, say things that may be unacceptable, the important thing is how does the party respond. We have an independent investigations process and when it concerns candidates or MPs, we expect as the public does the very highest standards.”

The Jewish Labour Movement said it wanted any party members present at the meeting disciplined if it emerges that they failed to criticise the remarks.s

Ralph Blackburn is NationalWorld’s politics editor based in Westminster, where he gets special access to Parliament, MPs and government briefings. If you liked this article you can follow Ralph on X (Twitter) here and sign up to his free weekly newsletter Politics Uncovered, which brings you the latest analysis and gossip from Westminster every Sunday morning.