Keir Starmer has today sacked his former leadership rival Rebecca Long-Bailey from the shadow cabinet. The Labour leader asked Long-Bailey to step down as shadow education secretary after she shared an interview which contained an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory. In the article in question, long-time Jeremy Corbyn supporter Maxine Peake – an actress – suggested the tactics used by police in America on George Floyd were ‘learnt from seminars with Israeli secret services’. Announcing the decision, a spokesperson for Starmer said:
‘This afternoon Keir Starmer asked Rebecca Long-Bailey to step down from the Shadow Cabinet. The article Rebecca shared earlier today contained an antisemitic conspiracy theory. As Leader of the Labour Party, Keir has been clear that restoring trust with the Jewish community is a number one priority. Antisemitism takes many different forms and it is important that we all are vigilant against it.
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