Keir Starmer says he took ’tough’ and ’decisive’ action to suspend Azhar Ali

Keir Starmer has insisted he took “decisive” action after Labour was accused of a “shambolic” delay in withdrawing support for a candidate who claimed Israel had allowed the Hamas attack that killed 1,200 people. Labour initially backed Mr Ali, who said Israel had “allowed” the October 7 massacre in order to attack Gaza, saying he had fallen for an online conspiracy theory. But the party dramatically dropped him on Monday night after it emerged he had also blamed “people in the media from certain Jewish quarters“ for fuelling criticism of a pro-Palestinian MP. Watch more on Independent TV: Click here to subscribe to The Independent: About The Independent: Making Change Happen. The Independent is the world’s most free-thinking newsbrand, providing global news, commentary and analysis for the independently-minded. Connect with The Independent: Check out our fu