A member of Labour’s ruling NEC has been suspended pending investigation after he appeared to brand anti-Semitism ‘total lies’ in a recording.
Pete Willsman will be banned from NEC meetings while facing a party probe after he was condemned by MPs over the secretly-taped audio rant.
According to a recording made in January, handed to LBC and later the Mirror, Mr Willsman branded anti-Semitism claims “total lies” that were “whipped up”.
The voice on the tape added: “It’s almost certain who is behind all this anti-Semitism against Jeremy. Almost certainly, it was the Israeli embassy.
“They caught somebody in the in the Labour Party who it turns out in an agent in the embassy.”
A suspension letter has now been sent to Mr Willsman hours after the tape emerged.
A Labour spokeswoman said: “Peter Willsman has been suspended from the Labour Party, pending investigation.”
Mr Willsman is a powerful ally of Jeremy Corbyn on Labour’s National Executive Committee – where he was re-elected last year despite blaming anti-Semitism claims on Jewish “Trump fanatics”.
He now cannot attend NEC meetings or perform any other functions as a member of the NEC while suspended from the Party.
He is accused of making the comments during a lengthy chance meeting in his hometown of Oxford with American-Israeli writer Tuvia Tenenbom.
Mr Tenenbom’s team began secretly recording 90 minutes of the conversation, in which the interviewee described himself as “Corbyn’s protector.”
Asked his name, he said: “Peter. Red Pete. They call me Corbyn’s enforcer. But I said I don’t want to be called Corbyn’s enforcer because enforcers ain’t got no sense of humour.
“I’m more like Corbyn’s protector, ‘cos he never looks after himself. He never defends his back. Because he’s not interested in himself, he just wants to change the world.”
He added: “It’s me who has to stop people stabbing him in then back.”
And he said: “I spend 10 hours a day working for Jeremy Bernard Corbyn. Voluntary, 10 hours a day.”
The interviewee told the journalist he could meet Jeremy Corbyn at party conference, but “he’s too busy at the moment with this f***ing Brexit rubbish.”
But asked if if he wanted to be interviewed personally on the record, he said: “No thank you.”
Before Mr Willsman’s suspension was announced, Labour MPs called for him to be thrown out of the party.
Labour MP Jess Phillips said: “He should be suspended from the party not just the NEC.”
Deputy leader Tom Watson had said Mr Willsman must be suspended immediately.
He said: “The fact that a member of Labour’s governing body feels he can continue to make such offensive remarks after being warned for similar outbursts previously shows how serious the problem of anti-Semitism is in our party.
“The general secretary must make good on the promise that was made following Mr Willsman’s previous outburst, that he would face disciplinary action if he engaged in similar conduct again.
“He must be suspended from the NEC and from party membership immediately.”
Young Labour chair Miriam Mirwitch added: “Alastair Campbell was expelled from the Labour Party in half a working day.
“Let’s see if we can also expel Pete Willsman for his clear infraction of Labour rules in the same amount of time.”
The Mirror called and texted Mr Willsman but he could not be reached immediately for comment.