Rebecca Long-Bailey says sacking by Keir Starmer in anti-Semitism row was ‘an avoidable mess’

Rebecca Long-Bailey has said her sacking from Labour‘s front bench for sharing an article that contained an allegedly anti-Semitic conspiracy theory was an “avoidable mess”.

Writing for the Guardian on Monday, Ms Long-Bailey said she “takes responsibility” for her actions and said she never intended the tweet to cause harm, adding: “I know how painful anti-Semitism is.”

The former shadow education secretary wrote: “It was a mess, and an avoidable one. Of course I take responsibility for my own actions.”

Ms Long-Bailey was fired by Sir Keir Starmer last week after sharing a tweet linking to an interview with the actor Maxine Peake.

In the article, Ms Peake claimed police linked to the death of George Floyd in the US had learned their tactics from the Israeli secret services.

Sir Keir, following his initial decision to sack Ms Long-Bailey, said he had acted in order to rebuild trust with the Jewish community after years in which Labour has been embroiled in allegations of anti-Semitism.

Ms Long-Bailey wrote on Monday that she “did a quick read” of Ms Peake’s interview in the Independent before retweeting it, adding that the actor is her “constituent and [a] stalwart Labour party supporter.”

Shortly afterwards, Sir Keir’s staff rushed to alert Ms Long-Bailey to the anti-Semitic connotations of Ms Peake’s comments.

She said: “I explained to the leader’s office that I would never have intended to retweet or endorse anything that could cause hurt to anyone,” adding that she has helped in efforts to get rid of anti-Semitism in Labour.

She said Sir Keir’s staff then worked with Ms Long-Bailey to produce a clarification, before deciding this wasn’t enough and the original tweet should be deleted.

Ms Long-Bailey didn’t delete the tweet because “complete silence… over what had just happened would have been an abdication of the Labour party’s responsibility to advance dialogue and understanding on this issue; silence is what allows antisemitic conspiracy theories to fester and spread,” she said.

She was later sacked by Sir Keir over the phone. The original tweet and later clarifications remain online.

Ms Long-Bailey said she would now focus on her constituents in Salford and Eccles as a backbencher, working “in parliament and in the community doing the job I was always elected to do: a voice for the voiceless, because the welfare of the people is the highest law.”

A snap poll after Ms Long-Bailey’s sacking suggested that 47 per cent of Brits backed Sir Keir’s decision.

But a group of MPs on the left of the party, which includes former leader Jeremy Corbyn, have said “significant disagreement remains” with Sir Keir about Ms Long-Bailey’s removal.

Ms Long-Bailey has been replaced as Shadow Education Secretary by Stretford and Urmston MP Kate Green.