Sir Keir Starmer is very keen these days to prove that Labour can be trusted on defence and foreign policy. Tweets, statements, Union Jacks galore: nothing is too over the top in the party’s efforts to distance itself from its recent Corbynista past. So Mr S was intrigued to see what one of his backbenchers was up to earlier this month when she was billed to appear on a panel with a range of foreign politicians and activists with, er, some interesting views.
Liverpool’s Kim Johnson MP helped organise a conference three weeks ago with the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Western Sahara, on which she serves as vice-chairman. Speakers billed on the panel include Taleb Alisalem, a vocal and frequent critic of Israel, which he claims is committing ‘genocide’ in Palestine. The event also lists the Communist Party of Spain’s (PCE) British branch as being a key partner.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine the party issued a remarkably pro-Kremlin statement which blamed NATO for Putin’s move. It claimed that ‘sending weapons, many of them, those no longer used by EU armies, to give to untrained civilians can only prolong the war and with it, the suffering of the Ukrainian people’ and that they could end up in the hands of ‘fascist paramilitary groups present in Ukraine.’
The statement also condemned sanctions against Russian oligarchs and businesses. The PCE is affiliated with three Russian Stalinist parties, all of which support the invasion of Ukraine, through the International Meeting of Communist and Workers Parties.
Asked for comment, Kim Johnson said that, with regards to Israel: ‘I have made my views very public on my support for the Palestinian people… but have been clear that I believe peace will be achieved through a two-state solution.’ She added: ‘I have also made my support for Ukraine’s defence of its country against the Russian invasion very clear, and stated that I believe Russia is the illegal aggressor and that sanctions are justifiable. ‘
The Labour party declined to provide any comment on the record, supportive or critical, despite several requests. Solidarity comrades, eh?
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