Corbyn accuses Tories of antisemitism hypocrisy during conference speech

Published time: 26 Sep, 2018 11:29Edited time: 26 Sep, 2018 12:35

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Britain's Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn sits on stage at the annual Labour Party Conference 

REUTERS/Phil Noble

Jeremy Corbyn, speaking during the Labour conference, accused the Tories of hypocrisy on antisemitism after their MEPs supported Hungary's “hard right government” in a recent EU parliament vote.

Speaking to a packed ACC hall, Liverpool, Corbyn said: “We won’t accept it when we’re attacked by Tory hypocrites who accuse us of antisemitism one day, then endorse Viktor Orban’s hard right government the next. Or when they say we are racist, while they work to create a hostile environment for all migrant communities.”

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In his strongest statements yet on the incident, Corbyn stated that evidence 'now points clearly to the Russian state' being to blame for the Salisbury poisonings of former-Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia. The Labour leader had previously called for all the avenues of international law be explored before blame for the incident be assigned. The Russian state has consistently denied any involvement. 

In a significant step on the issue of Israel-Palestine, Corbyn pledged that Labour would “recognise a Palestinian state as soon as we take office.”

He also condemned the recent “Nation-State Law” enacted by the Israeli government and hit out at the the killing of “unarmed demonstrators” in Gaza to mark the 70th anniversary of the “Nakba”.

He told Labour conference delegates: “Our Party is united in condemning the shooting of hundreds of unarmed demonstrators in Gaza by Israeli forces and the passing of Israel’s discriminatory Nation-State Law.”

It marks the end of Labour’s four-day conference in Liverpool, which has seen key players such as Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell, Shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry and Shadow Brexit Secretary Keir Starmer, give eye-catching speeches.