Did Owen Jones once describe an ‘anti-Semitic trope’ as ‘eloquent’ during a book talk?

Today Owen Jones has criticised Michael Fallon for using the term ‘stabbed in the back’ to describe what he thinks Ed Miliband would do to Britain over Trident. The Guardian columnist has gone so far as to say that the phrase is ‘anti-Semitic’.

Michael Fallon’s “stabbed in the back” metaphor is deeply sinister. It is a classic anti-Semitic trope

— Owen Jones (@OwenJones84) April 9, 2015

However, Mr S understands that Jones may not have always been so averse to the term. In 2011, Jones gave a Bookmarks Bookshop talk about his book  Chavs: The Demonization of the Working Class as part of the annual Trades Union Congress. Writing for the Enlightenment Blues blog, Tom Rollins (a journalist who has written for the New Statesman) claimed that during this talk Jones quoted someone who had used the phrase ‘stabbed in the back’ and even went as far as to say that the wording was ‘eloquent’.

‘I met miners who’d been out of work – since 1986. I met someone not much younger than me – about 24 – who did a 6-hour round-trip everyday just to work in a factory in Scotland. I met one woman who very eloquently put it: “We were stabbed in the back by Thatcher and they left us to bleed to death.”‘

For what it’s worth, Ed Balls doesn’t seem to see the issue with the term either:

.@OwenJones84 Looking forward to your denunciation of Ed Balls as an anti-Semite… pic.twitter.com/meWLMd2qmi — Mark Wallace (@wallaceme) April 9, 2015

Mr S looks forward to hearing what Jones has to say about the claims.

Update: Owen Jones has got in touch with Mr S to defend his comments.

@MrSteerpike it’s “stab the country in the back” trope that is problem. Miliband’s national loyalty constantly questioned. See: Daily Mail

— Owen Jones (@OwenJones84) April 9, 2015