Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Labour must "apologise" for using controversial leaflet featuring Johnson and Modi: Shami Chakrabarti

Labour must "apologise" for using controversial leaflet featuring Johnson and Modi: Shami Chakrabarti
LABOUR peer Shami Chakrabarti has criticised the party for using a leaflet, featuring British prime minister Boris Johnson shaking hands with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi during the Batley and Spen by-election campaign, saying it was a mistake for which “the party must apologise”.

Claiming that she holds “no brief for the rightwing Hindu nationalist whose catastrophic pandemic mismanagement, misogyny and Islamophobia I find indefensible”, Chakrabarti questioned the photo and caption in the leaflet which features the photograph of Modi and Johnson shaking hands along with the caption that said don’t risk a Tory MP “who is not on your side.”

Labour’s leaflet featuring Boris Johnson shaking hands with Indian premier Narendra Modi was a mistake for which the party must apologise.


In a column in The Guardian, Chakrabarti wrote: “What was this photo and its caption, “the risk of voting for anyone but Labour is clear”, supposed to indicate? That a Labour prime minister or foreign secretary would never shake such a hand or attempt to negotiate trade, or peace, or a shamefully belated vaccine patent waiver with one of the largest nations in the global south?”

Slamming the Labour party’s tactic to attract some 8,600 Muslim voters, mostly of Pakistani origin, using the leaflet, Chakrabarti said the party’s choice of photo and the caption suggest that it assumed people vote solely on communal lines.

“There is no point in proclaiming zero tolerance for antisemitism and all forms of racism among party members if Labour undermines attempts at trying to explain the nuances of modern racism and stereotyping come election time,” former director of Liberty wrote in the column.

In the by-election held last week, Labour party candidate Kim Leadbeater won the seat by a narrow margin, thus hanging on to a parliamentary seat that if lost, would have heaped pressure on Labour party leader Keir Starmer to stand down.

“Let the Battle for Batley of 2021 be remembered as a nadir in national discourse from which we learned and recovered, if only in the Labour party,” the 52-year-old said.

Chakrabarti also lambasted George Galloway over his “toxic” campaign during which he stoked “homophobic sentiment” when  he  described himself as a “straight white man with six children” who would not stand “for BBC trying to teach our young children that there are 99 genders”.

More For You

The meeting between Trump and William took place at the UK ambassador's residence in Paris after the event. (Photo: Getty Images)
The meeting between Trump and William took place at the UK ambassador's residence in Paris after the event. (Photo: Getty Images)

Trump meets Prince William at Notre Dame reopening

US president-elect Donald Trump met Prince William on Saturday during the reopening ceremony of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.

The event marked the restoration of the historic landmark following a major fire in 2019.

Keep ReadingShow less
Princess of Wales hosts emotional Christmas service
Kate attends the "Together At Christmas" Carol Service" at Westminster Abbey in London on December 6, 2024. (Photo by ISABEL INFANTES/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Princess of Wales hosts emotional Christmas service

PRINCESS OF WALES, Kate Middleton, hosted a Christmas service at Westminster Abbey on Friday (6) that reflected on "the most difficult times" as she returns to public life after her cancer diagnosis.

The London carol service intended to "reflect upon the importance of love and empathy, and how much we need each other, especially in the most difficult times of our lives", according to Kensington Palace office.

Keep ReadingShow less
Rotherham sexual assault convict to be released from prison: report
Banaras Hussain

Rotherham sexual assault convict to be released from prison: report

A MAN convicted of violent sexual offences in Rotherham is set to be released from prison on licence after serving nine years of a 19-year sentence.

The crimes of Banaras Hussain, 44, included rape, indecent assault, and actual bodily harm, were part of a prolonged pattern of abuse targeting vulnerable victims, some as young as 11.

Keep ReadingShow less
Birmingham gang convicted for £2.5m Covid fraud

Birmingham gang convicted for £2.5m Covid fraud

TWELVE members of an organised crime group from Birmingham, Walsall, and Yorkshire have been found guilty of defrauding over £2.5 million in Covid support grants through fraudulent claims.

The crime group exploited non-trading businesses and stolen identities to submit multiple Covid support claims, including Bounce Back Loans, HMRC payments, and various grants set up to assist struggling businesses and individuals during the pandemic.

Keep ReadingShow less
Migrant workers key to meet housing target, warn builders
Construction workers work on building residential houses and homes at a Homes by Strata building site, in Leeds, northern England on September 4, 2024. (Photo by OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images)

Migrant workers key to meet housing target, warn builders

THE UK must urgently address a construction skills shortage, including by increasing migrant worker numbers, to achieve prime minister's target of building 1.5 million homes by the end of this parliamentary term, industry leaders have warned.

The National Federation of Builders, which represents small and medium-sized contractors, highlighted the scale of the challenge, pointing to an ageing workforce and declining numbers of apprentices, the Telegraph reported.

Keep ReadingShow less