Ex-Labour leader condemns Corbyn over anti-semitism

Jim Murphy led Scottish Labour from December 2014 to June 2015

A former Scottish Labour leader has criticised Jeremy Corbyn for what he regards as the party's failure to root out anti-semitism.

In an unusual move, Jim Murphy paid for a full page advert in the Jewish Telegraph to highlight his concerns.

The ex-East Renfrewshire MP's article appears on page three of the paper under the headline "In sorrow and anger - an apology."

UK Labour said they would not be commenting on the advert.

Mr Murphy, who led Scottish Labour to a disastrous election result in 2015, said the current Labour leadership had done so much to damage its relationship with British Jewry.

'Emotionally inept'

He also accused Mr Corbyn and his top team of being "intellectually arrogant, emotionally inept and politically maladroit".

Labour has been dealing with a row about the extent of anti-Semitism within the party for more than two years.

Recently, the focus has been on a new code of conduct the party has adopted on anti-Semitism, with critics concerned that it does not go as far as the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's (IHRA) guidelines.

• A guide to Labour Party anti-Semitism claims

The Jewish Leadership Council and Board of Deputies have accused the Labour leader of "ideological hostility" to the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism and its 11 examples.

While Labour's code has adopted the definition, it is argued that this does not include four of the examples.

However, Labour said it had "expanded and contextualised" the IHRA examples to provide "legally sound guidelines that a political party can apply to disciplinary cases".