Our statement made in response to the comments made by the Labour Party candidate for Rochdale:

We have met county Councillor Ali both before and after his selction as the Parliamentary candidate for Rochdale.  We were reassured by his long track record of interfaith work and combatting extremism.  The discussions were positive and reflected our stated desire to build bridges across communities during this challenging time.

We were therefore shocked and appalled to see County councillor Ali’s remarks about the terrorist attacks committed by Hamas on the 7th October.  His assertion that this was orchestrated by the Israeli government demonstrates warped thinking and is deeply troubling.  this conspiratorial narrative is highly offensive, completely fictitious and at a time of record levels of antisemitism, has the potential to exacerbate the conflict playing out across Greater Manchester and beyond.

The Labour party deserves huge credit for the steps taken to build trust with the Jewish community.  We look forward to receiving condemnation from the Party that they utterly condemn these atrocious comments.  We also expect a full and unequivocal apology from the candidate.