Sultana claims new Corbyn party carrying out 'witch hunt' against activists

Zarah Sultana has accused leading figures in the new party she is founding with Jeremy Corbyn of carrying out a "witch hunt" to purge left-wing activists.

Sultana boycotted the first day of the founding conference of the project, currently operating under the name Your Party, after several members who also belonged to the Socialist Workers Party were expelled.

Party officials said the expulsions were for breaching rules that ban members from joining any other political party in the UK or abroad.

Sultana's comments came as Corbyn used his conference speech to call for unity as the party had "a unique opportunity" to found "a socialist party of mass appeal".

She told the BBC one of her staff had also been denied a pass for the conference. Your Party officials confirmed a pass had not been issued but denied the decision had been politically motivated.

A spokesperson for Sultana said: "This witch hunt is indefensible - we must build a party that welcomes all socialists."

Asked by the BBC if she stood by the claim there was a witch hunt, Sultana said: "Absolutely."

"And it is disgusting to see the type of behaviour we have seen in the Labour Party," she added. "It's a toxic culture we're not seeking to replicate here."

Sultana said "nameless and faceless bureaucrats" were "working in the shadows" to expel people "without the membership actually voting on it".

Members of other groups "shouldn't be made to choose" between their membership and "our new party", Sultana said.

A Your Party spokesman said: "Members of another national political party signed up to Your Party in contravention of clearly stated membership rules - and these rules were enforced.

"We're focused on hosting a democratic founding conference with thousands of members coming together to debate and decide the big issues.

"This is politics outside the Westminster mould: from the ground up, not the top down."

During his speech, Corbyn admitted there had been "mistakes" during the party's turbulent founding - a process that has seen Sultana frequently at odds with party officials and two MPs resign from the project.

Adnan Hussain and Iqbal Mohamed quit within a week of each other, citing internal tensions.

Before leaving, both Hussain and Mohamed had put their names to a letter criticising Sultana for failing to transfer an estimated £800,000 of Your Party donations held by a company she controls.

The money is held by MoU Operations Ltd, which collected the initial waves of donations while Your Party was being formally registered.

Sultana has transferred £600,000, promising any remaining money will be paid "as soon as possible, as the legal details are ironed out".

Speaking on Saturday, Corbyn said: "As a party, we've got to come together and be united, because division and disunity will not serve the interests of the people that we want to represent."

He also called for "public, democratic ownership" of the water industry, led a chant of "free, free Palestine" and urged party members to "campaign forevermore for real socialism and real social justice".

Sign up for our Politics Essential newsletter to keep up with the inner workings of Westminster and beyond.