Labour leadership hopeful Jess Phillips forced to suspend key aide for offensive antisemitic tweets

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LABOUR leadership contender Jess Phillips has been forced to suspend a key aide over a flurry of offensive antisemitic tweets.

The reveals are a devastating blow to Mrs Phillips, who has repeatedly called out antisemitism in Labour as she bids to replace Jeremy Corbyn.

Jess Phillips has suspended a key aide over the comments

Her office manager had made a series of disgusting comments online, including labelling Israel a murderer that was inflicting Holocaust conditions on Palestinians.

Her Birmingham Yardley constituency office manager Salma Hamid made the comments in a series of posts between 2014 and 2015, before she was employed by the MP.

One was addressed directly to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and appeared to compare Israel to Isis.

It said: Because Israel obeys human rights/law? Hilarious! Isis are terrible too. So really there is no difference.

In another Ms Hamid wrote: We must show the world that Israel is the murderer!

She also claimed that Israel IS inflicting Holocaust conditions on Palestinians! Oppressive, racist and violent!

Mrs Hamid also made a distinction between Jews with a faith based on peace and love and Zionists.

The office manager has now been suspended, with Mrs Hamid now facing an investigation.

Salma Hamid has been suspended over the comments

Denny Taylor, spokesman for Labour Against Antisemitism, said: These offensive tweets are, in our opinion, antisemitic and it is right that Jess Phillips has acted quickly and suspended her office manager.

In a statement, Mrs Phillips labelled the comments completely unacceptable.

She said: I have been clear from the outside that we need a zero tolerance approach to anti-Semitism in the Party- and so the person involved was suspended with immediate effect.

I am really sad that Ive had to take this action against a hard working and valued member of the staff.

But we cant have one rule for those we dont like and another for those we do.