Labour official George McManus suspended over Jewish donors attack

A new Labour official has been embroiled in the party's anti-Semitism row, over criticism of the party's deputy leader.

George McManus, who sits on the influential National Policy Forum, attacked Tom Watson for saying Labour faces "eternal shame" over its response to fears raised by Jewish leaders.

Mr McManus posted on Facebook that Mr Watson received "£50,000 from Jewish donors".

He wrote: "At least Judas only got 30 pieces of silver."

In the Bible, Judas received 30 pieces of silver for betraying Jesus to the Romans, leading to his capture and crucifixion.

:: Watson bemused over calls to resign

Labour MP Wes Streeting, who co-chairs the all-party parliamentary group for British Jews, posted a screenshot of the tweet, saying: "More from the cesspit.

"This isn't even subtle. This is 100% a classic anti-Semitic trope - and from a Momentum-backed member of Labour's National Policy Forum.

"Will swift action be taken?"

Labour later announced it was suspending Mr McManus pending an investigation.

He deleted the tweet and posted an apology.

It read: "I'd like to apologise to Tom Watson and to the Jewish community for my drawing an analogy between him accepting money from Jewish donors and the biblical story of the betrayal by Judas.

"I fully accept that such an analogy is wrong and am sorry for making the comparison.

"I have now deleted the original post."

It comes after a man who claimed to be a long-time friend of leader Jeremy Corbyn was forced to apologise for claiming Jewish "Trump fanatics" were behind allegations of anti-Semitism in the party.

Peter Willsman, a member of Labour's National Executive Committee (NEC) standing for re-election, has promised he will have "equalities training".